


Intersecting Lines in the Sand

by Donuts4Dragons (TheAlpineSea)



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Perilous Situations, Slow Burn, The 100 (TV) Season 1, The 100 (TV) Season 1 Divergence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:06:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 29,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22199071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAlpineSea/pseuds/Donuts4Dragons
Summary: Season 1, Episode 1The Dropship broke into pieces upon entry.Clarke finds herself on an island with eight others and one of them has a gun. No one is going to help them except themselves.--Bellamy, chest heaving, laid her dripping form on the sand.Clarke lurched forward. She pushed the others aside, so her fingers could find Trina’s pulse. She looked up, mouth dry.“She’s dead.”
Relationships: Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin
Comments: 34
Kudos: 165





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I originally had this idea for a horror film. Not that I write horror films or this will be a "horror" fic, but the concept just popped into my head and I'm surprised it hasn't been used yet. 
> 
> And, next thing, Clarke and Bellamy just seemed to belong there. 
> 
> So here you have it.
> 
> The fic title is from the song "Sea Legs" by The Shins.

Clarke woke up to the dropship’s metallic groans and the nervous twitters of other delinquents.

And Wells was sitting next to her. 

He launched into an apology. One that she was sure he had rehearsed beforehand. Because that’s the kind of person he was. Because that’s the boy she had loved as a brother for as long as she could remember. And maybe still did. Was it possible to hate someone SO much and love them at the same time? 

Despite having more than 300 hundred days in solitary to think, she still hadn’t come to a decision on that. 

Oh, she just wished he would disappear.

And then Marcus Kane’s voice came over the speakers.

“Prisoners of the ark, listen carefully, the ship you are currently on will be penetrating the earth’s atmosphere in approximately 20 minutes.”

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Clarke could still hear one of the delinquents sniggering through a dirty joke.

“However, we have an unforeseen issue. An exterior breach has formed in the portside chamber of the ship.”

A shout rang out from inside the Dropship, “Are we supposed to know what that means?!”

Kane’s voice continued, “It is imperative that you immediately patch the breached area with the emergency sealant located above the communications system. This is urgent, as it must be done before entering the atmosphere. I repeat, you must patch the breached area before entering the atmosphere in approximately 20 minutes.”

The broadcast ended abruptly. And, for about five seconds, everything was quiet except for the whirring of machines and the creaking dropship. Then chaos ensued.

Delinquents started to rip at their harnesses and crying out. A boy began repeating over and over again, “We’re going to die. We’re going to die.” One girl, who must’ve only been about thirteen, started to bawl. 

And then someone shouted from down lower in the drop ship.

“All of you shut up, or I’ll come and kill you all myself!”

There was a shocked silence among the delinquents, except for the soft sniffles from the little girl.

Clarke called out into the silence, “Ok, first things first, who knows how to get out of these harnesses?”

——

4 minutes later, after a long-haired boy with a knife had started cutting kids free, Clarke found herself in what was apparently the portside chamber with another boy named Monty. 

He seemed to know a decent amount about mechanics, which was great, but even she could see the soccer ball-sized dent in the wall of the ship was bad news.

She turned to Monty.

“I can guess, but tell me what’ll happen if we can’t patch this.”

Monty swallowed nervously.

“There’s a chance the hull of the ship might break. Which is bad. But the outer layer is designed to shield us from the heat that accumulates on re-entry. If we can’t patch it-“ He paused a second, and glanced at her nervously, “the heat would burn us alive before anything else.”

“Clarke.” 

The both turned at Wells’ desperate voice.

He was holding what seemed to be a large aerosol can, but the top was askew and foam material had hardened along the side.

Clarke stared at it.

“What did you-“

Wells cut in.

“I found it like this.”

Monty reached for it.

“The can of Sealant must’ve been too old or defective, normally it should withstand the pressure of space travel.”

“Were there any other cans?” Clarke asked.

Wells shook his head.

“Some of the other kids are still looking, but I don’t think so.”

Clarke turned back to Monty, heart racing, “What can we do now?”

“I- I-“

Monty paused and his hands started to twitch. He opened his mouth again, but no sound came out.

“Monty?”

Under normal circumstances, Clarke would be ashamed at how her voice squeaked. But what was normal right now?

A dry voice, from the long-haired guy with the knife from earlier, spoke from the doorway.

“So, we’re dying then?”

Clarke purposefully ignored him and focused on Monty.

“Is there anything else we can use to seal this area?”

Monty licked his lips.

“I dont- I-“ He turned to stare at the dent in the wall. “To seal. To seal. To seal the area…”

He suddenly whipped around and hurried over to the doorway. The long-haired guy backed up and Clarke followed Monty over.

“What is it?”

Monty placed his hand against the doorway, “If we empty the two portside chambers and seal the doors off, it could be enough—I’m not 100% sure—but it could be enough of a barrier to protect us from the heat.”

The other guy lifted his eyebrows.

“Is there a plan that you’re 100% sure of?”

Monty shook his head, “Nope. This is it.”

Wells stepped forward, “Then it’s what we’ve got. I’ll start moving the kids to the other chambers.” He turned to the long-haired boy, “What’s your name?”

“Finn.”

“Finn. Can I use your knife?”

Finn handed it over without a word.

Wells glanced over at Clarke one more time, his eyes wide and sorrowful.

“Clarke, I-“

“Not now. Just go, Wells.”

Wells hesitated for another second before heading out.

Finn focused on Clarke and Monty, “So, we need to close two doors?”

Monty nodded before adding, “It’ll probably be harder than we think. This ship is pretty old.”

“Well, then we’ll split the work up.” Finn turned, grabbed a couple delinquents and pulled them over.

“And, look, we’ve got some help.”

——

The doors were operated by a control panel. 

But said control panel was inside a dash locked with a huge coded padlock. 

Monty gave the code a few tries and then they had resorted to using physical force. They had ripped up one of the chair legs and one of the bigger delinquents, a guy named John Mbege, was using it to hammer away at the padlock.

Despite him putting all his weight into his hits, they barely made any impact. And there were only 3 minutes left before hitting the earth's atmosphere. 

Mbege finally threw the makeshift hammer to the ground in frustration.

“This is doing nothing.”

Finn piped up.

“Can we use anything as explosives? Can we just blow the lock off?”

Both Monty and Clarke shook their heads, knowing there was no time. And they were seconds away from all dying. Painfully.

Clarke was purposefully trying to shove all thoughts of burning flesh and tortured screams from her mind, but they still kept returning. She searched around her, trying to find any other possible solution.

A new voice. “Step back, all of you.”

The newcomer looked to be in his early twenties, which already made him stand out in a ship filled to the brim with teenagers. But he was also wearing a guard’s jacket. All that, combined with his authoritative air and tone, made them all step back several paces without hesitation or question.

And he pulled out a gun and rang out two shots towards the padlock.

Monty rushed forward and let out a yell of triumph as the padlock pulled apart with a tug. But the rest of them stared for one extra moment at the newcomer. And his gun.

——

The second door was jammed. Only halfway to closed.

And there were only seventy seconds left.

After pulling a few other delinquents over, there were 9 of them straining to close the doors manually.

Finn was pushing next to her and said lowly, “You realize that after we get these doors closed,” He paused to catch his breath. “we’re going to be stuck on the wrong side, right?”

Clarke was saved from answering by Guard Guy, who was straining behind them, hands placed right above their’s. “We’re getting this closed no matter what, there’s no other option. If not for ourselves, then for everyone else,” he said through gritted teeth.

Guard Guy raised his voice so everyone pushing could hear, “On the count of three, give your hardest push. One. Two. Three.”

Clarke let out a strained scream as she put all her strength into getting the doors closed.

And fell as she felt the door give under her hands. She glanced up from the floor and let out a sigh of relief. The doors were closed.

One of the girls roped into helping seemed to finally realize that they were stuck on the other side of the door. The side with the ominous dent in the wall.

“Wait! Wait! Open the door again! We- We-“

Guard Guy shook his head, “There’s no way we are getting that open again.”

She looked about ready to faint.

Mbege desperately pointed at a door in one of the side walls. 

“Could that be another way out?”

Monty immediately replied, “No, it’s not.” But he strode over anyways and opened the door to reveal a small storage space. He pulled out the mound of extra straps that had been laying on the storage room floor.

“It’ll be a tight squeeze, but it’s a better chance than just sitting in the chamber.”

Clarke followed him over.

“Then that’s what we’ll do.” 

Mbege went in first, because he was the biggest, followed by Guard Guy and some of the other boys.

And quickly everyone was squeezed in except Clarke.

She looked in. 

The sight of 8 teenagers shoved into such a tiny space, in other situation would be absurdly comical, but she found, for the first time today, she just wanted to cry. She couldn't imagine how she could fit.

She let out a shaky breath. “Close the door.”

They stared at her.

Monty reached out, fingers almost grazing her side.

“Clarke, get in here. We have seconds.”

“I’m not going to fit. Close the door before it’s too late.”

Even though she kept her gaze steady, her voice wavered and betrayed her.

Finn’s and Guard Guy’s hands reached out and their fingers dug painfully into her upper arms. Together, they forcefully pulled her, protesting, between everyone's heads and contorted backs. they finally managed to awkwardly lay her across their hunched shoulders. Someone started pulling at the storage room door and it pushed painfully against the top of her feet and shins. But one strong tug later, the door was closed.

And then it was pitch black. And they waited. Hoping that one storage room door was enough to save them.

——

Clarke didn’t believe in God. 

Most citizens of the Ark didn’t. Descending from aeronauts and scientists kind of discouraged that. 

But Clarke had heard about Hell. 

And it seemed a lot like this. 

The sparks of flame dancing behind her screwed shut eyelids were probably her imagination, but she could feel the heat searing her skin. 

She couldn’t move at all, pressed in at all sides into the most uncomfortable position. Her ears were barely able to catch the screams surrounding her, maybe even from her, over the terrifying sound of rending metal. And the smell, she couldn’t even begin to describe the horrible smell that just permeated everything.

Yes, Hell was probably a lot like this. 

Maybe the Greeks and Christians were right. She had died. She had died and she was in Hell. She was in Hell because she couldn’t save her father. Because she couldn’t warn the Ark. Because she had been so filled with hate for the past year. Because she had grown up in security and ease, when so many others hadn’t.

And then, sudden pain and finally, nothing.

——

“Clarke.”

It was too bright. Even with her eyes closed, she could tell it was too bright.

“Clarke.”

Why were the lights on so bright? Such a waste of energy.

“Clarke!”

She finally wrenched open her eyelids, to find out who had turned on all the lights.

Finn was leaning over her. And beyond him, was the sun in an egg-shell blue sky. As blue as her favorite colored pencil growing up.

Her surroundings seemed to hum, to roar and spin around her. And then she turned her head to the side and vomited.

“Whoa, are you ok?”

Clarke coughed and raised a weak hand to wipe her mouth, “I don’t know.” 

She squinted her eyes against the sunlight and realized that the faint humming sound wasn’t coming from an engine. There was soft roar from the distance like static. And air brushed her face as if she was laying by a vent. 

Wind. Natural air.

“We made it down?”

Finn nodded eagerly and softly eased her into a sitting position.

There were trees. They were tall and so so green. The branches moved in the breeze, green and brown flickering and waving. And the trees made NOISE. The leaves clicked against each other and the trunks groaned as the wind pushed against them. Little details that pictures and videos had never shown her on the Ark.

Earth.

She was alive. On earth. The vomiting was concerning, she couldn’t rule out radiation poisoning yet. But, for now, she was alive and SHE WAS ON EARTH.

She turned to Finn.

“Is everyone okay?”

He winced.

“The ship must have broken up into parts. We don’t know where everyone else went, it’s just the nine of us. We’re all good, except something’s up with Fox’s leg.”

Clarke gaped at him before whipping her head around so quickly that it made her aching neck cry out in pain.

In front of her was a huge heap of metal that she could barely recognize as belonging to the Dropship. The area was all fenced in by dozens of trees. A bit to the left there was small group of delinquents gathered. And no one else.

A whole Dropship’s worth of kids, gone. Wells, gone. She didn’t even know if he was still alive.

Clarke tried to push off the ground, but her arms felt too weak to actually get very far. She fell the short distance down with a groan.

Finn rested a hand on her arm. “Whoa. I don’t think that’s a good idea, are you sure you’re okay? I mean, you even threw up.”

She took a deep breath, finally noticing a bruise developing on the side of her head. Between passing out, the bruise and vomiting, her mind went to the worst possibilities. Acute Radiation Poisoning. Subdural Hematoma. Both of which would be… bad. But she shoved that away and met Finn’s gaze confidently.

“It’s probably just motion sickness. If it’s any worse than that it’d just be a mild concussion. Nothing drastic.”

Finn gave her a long look before nodding.

“If I help you up, do you think you’ll be able to stand?”

“Let’s find out.”

He grasped her by the elbows and pulled her up.

She gasped as the movement pulled at resisting muscles. Finn was able to tug her to her feet, but her legs felt so unsteady that she kept gripping Finn’s arm. 

“I think my legs need a minute. Do you mind…”

She felt so frustrated. Her first steps on earth and she no better than a toddler. But Finn shot her an easy grin.

“I got you, you barely weigh anything anyways. I’m sure you’ll be back running around in no time.”

She gave him a small smile in return for getting rid of the tension.

“Thanks.” She nodded towards the others. “Do you mind if we join them? I want to look at that leg.”

They hobbled slowly over, like some strange lumbering beast. Looking at the huddled group, there was a solemn air over them. And even though they gave little curious glances to their surroundings, their shoulders seemed hunched over defensively. Their figures were dwarfed by the trees and the hulking mass that was the part of the dropship’s smoking shell. 

They made their way closer until whines of pain dominated all the surrounding noise. The others made space for them. In the middle of the group, a girl, who must be Fox, laid pale and crying, biting at her sleeve. Monty and another girl were crouched by her, murmuring softly, hands hovering over her left leg. 

Clarke pulled herself away from Finn and plopped down as gently as possible next to Fox. Clarke still gritted her teeth when the movement made her head throb, but leaned forward to take a close look at Fox’s leg.

It was twisting at an unnatural angle, starting at her femur. She allowed herself a quiet sigh of relief when she saw it was closed fracture. They did not have the means to fight infections here.

She turned to look up at the others.

“I’m going to need two long, straight branches, at least as thick at your thumb.”

A couple of the guys seemed ready to hurry off to start looking. But they paused when one of the boys spoke up, arms crossed.

“We’re not on the Ark anymore, who’re you to tell us what to do? We won’t be your servants here, no matter who you are up there.”

She glared at him. He stared back, eyes defiant under his hooded brows.

“This isn’t about me, it’s about helping her. Do you have any medical background?” She asked. She went on before he could give an answer. “Her leg’s broken and it won’t heal correctly if we don’t make her a splint.”

He stepped forward, looming over them. 

“Then why don’t you go look for sticks, if you’re the expert? Why should we be taking your orders?”

Finn piped up.

“Shut up, Murphy. Clarke’s not doing well either, she can barely walk, let alone lug sticks around. And she certainly knows more about first-aid than you do.”

Clarke gave Finn an appreciative look as he immediately turned and started searching under the trees. Two of the other boys glanced hesitantly at Murphy before joining Finn. Murphy just scoffed and disappeared into the ruins of the Dropship. 

Which just left Monty, Clarke, the injured Fox and one other girl.

Monty murmured, “Don’t mind him. Murphy’s a bit unstable.”

Clarke bit her lip before realizing something was missing.

“Where’s that guy in the guard’s uniform?”

Monty shrugged.

“After we got everyone out of the ship, he said he was going to check the area and left.”

She thought anxiously about his gun, but pushed the thought from her mind as she turned back to Fox. One thing at a time.

“Fox, you’ve broken your leg and I need to set it. It’s going to hurt really bad for a second, but it’ll feel a lot better after.”

Fox gave a gasping sob. 

Clarke looked at the other girl.

“What’s your name?”

“Trina.”

“Ok, Trina, I’m going to need you to hold her arms down.”

Trina nodded with a shake breath and got into position. Fox let out a choked sound.

“Monty, can you hold her leg steady,” Clarke leaned forward to lightly touch just below where her thigh met her hips, “here, while I set it?”

Monty immediately wrapped his hands there and looked to Clarke for further instruction. 

Clarke let out a steadying breathe, reached took ahold of Fox’s leg and pushed it down and over.

Fox gave an ear-piercing scream and then slumped back, features slack.

Trina looked to Clarke, eyes wide.

“I think she passed out.”

“Yeah, that can happen,” She reassured her. “It’s probably better actually, the next few hours aren’t going to be very pleasant.”

A figure sprinted out of the woods, panting. He hurried over to them, guard’s jacket wrapped around his waist.

“I heard someone scream, what happened?”

“We were just setting her leg. The others are getting something to splint it with.” Clarke answered. Her gaze lingered on him, heavily conscious of the fact that he still had that gun on him.

“Did you find anything?” Monty asked him.

He shook his head.

“I didn’t go very far, but I don’t think the others landed anywhere near here.” His voice was heavy, eyes growing unfocused. They all grew quiet, wondering.

Trina cut through the silence. 

“You’re not one of the delinquents.” She stated, but a question lingered behind the words.

His eyes met Trina’s and then darted away. “Yeah, I actually came onto the ship for my sister Octavia.”

“Sister?” Monty asked incredulously, head rearing back.

But Trina gasped in realization, “The girl under the floor!” 

He winced, but didn’t contradict her.

Clarke continued, “And you are…?”

“Bellamy Blake.”

He didn’t offer up any more information.

The three boys soon came back with several sticks for Clarke to look over. Ten minutes later and some fabric ripped off Finn’s shirt later, Clarke had the still unconscious Fox’s leg in a sturdy splint. And she looked up to the others.

“What’s next?”

——

Trina stayed back with the sleeping Fox, while Clarke and the rest of the guys left to explore the area. Clarke was feeling steadier by the moment, and they walked slowly. Most of them, including Clarke, were sporting aches and bruises from the landing. But the boys all stared around themselves in awe, reaching up to brush their hands against the hanging leaves.

Clarke was keeping an eye out for any plants to help Fox with the pain, but already she was feeling overwhelmed. 

She was one of the best students in Earth Skills, but that was years ago and she couldn’t recognize any of the plants around them. That, being surrounded by chattering teenagers after a year in solitary, and the fact her surroundings wouldn’t stop moving were making her feel on edge.

“Where do you think that sound is coming from?”

Clarke turned to see Finn pulling up next to her.

“What sound?” She asked.

She listened carefully, but every noise around them was foreign, noises that she only knew from videos on the Ark. Everything was new, a chaotic wall of sound.

“That roaring sound. Can’t you hear it?”

Underneath the all the airy whistles and brushing foliage, there was a constant rough hum, that static sound. And it seemed to be getting louder the further they walked on the soft ground.

“I guess we’ll find out what it is.”

He leaned forward, voice hushed, “What if it’s some animal?”

Clarke arched a brow at him.

“Making that much noise?”

Finn shrugged.

“How many animals have you met, princess?”

She turned away, lips pursing.

“I’m no princess.”

Finn chuckled.

“You don’t like being called that, huh? It doesn’t have to be an insult.”

Clarke was still trying to decide whether to respond when they reached the top of a grass-covered ridge.

And there was water.

So much water that she couldn’t see the end of it, waves building and crashing with roaring crescendos. 

They stood there gaping. 

In theory, they all knew oceans existed and had seen them from the Ark windows, but it was mind-blowing to be confronted by that much water.

And then the silence was broken as the youngest of the boys, Del, whooped and started running toward the shoreline. Grinning, others followed, including Finn, who turned back just to say, “Coming, princess?”

She took off her shoes immediately, scrunching her nose as her feet met the texture of the dry grass. She tied the laces in a knot and hung her shoes around her neck, before making her way forward, to feel to the unusual sensation of sand beneath her feet. She could hear the boys splashing and shouting in the background, but she stared down at her toes disappearing into the sand. And the feeling made her heart feel like it was about to explode.

She looked up, blinking quickly. She awkwardly made eye contact with Bellamy, who, even though he was reaching down to run the sand through his fingers, had his jaw clenched painfully. They both broke eye contact quickly.

Clarke slowly made her way over to the water, gasping when the waves were colder than she expected. She gave a small smile when Del dunked Finn into the water. 

“Hey, guys! Look at this!” Mbege hollered from further down. He was standing on the beach pointing to what looked like a clear plastic bag.

They hurried over, Clarke reaching Mbege first. The object was motionless, but looked more and more organic the closer Clarke got. It was completely clear except a few circles of bright violet toward the center and had what looked like gelatinous ropes tangled at one side.

Mbege hunched down, hand reaching out.

“Don’t touch it!”

He paused, looking up at her, squinting against the sun. Murphy sauntered up next to them.

“Guess who’s back to bossing us around? Is that a kink of yours?”

Clarke sighed, “Shut up, Murphy, we don’t know what it is.”

Murphy came closer, close enough that to feel the heat of his breath against her forehead.

“Newsflash, this isn’t the Ark. We don’t know what anything is. Admit it, being top dog gets you off.”

Del and Monty, who had arrived earlier, were watching them with wide eyes. 

Mbege spoke up, nodding toward the mystery object in the sand, “So we can’t touch anything now?”

Murphy smirked at Clarke, the motion not quite reaching his eyes. 

“No. Our lowly hands are too filthy.” He looked her up and down. “But where else should we be putting them, your majesty? Are you volunteering? Solitary can do that to a person. You were wanting one of us to feel you up with our dirty hands, weren’t you?”

She shook her head in disgust, leaning away

“Get away from me, Murphy.”

Del looked closer at the bizarre object and started waving a hand around.

“Isn’t it one of those Jam Fish things?”

Monty’s face lit up, “A Jellyfish!”

Mbege’s eyebrows flew up.

“It’s a fish?”

“No. I don’t remember what it is really, but it can sting you.”

Mbege instantly stood up and stepped back. Clarke had to restrain herself from giving a told you so.

“Sting you?” Clarke repeated.

Monty shrugged.

“It’d probably feel like an electric shock. I don’t know this one stings though.”

“Can we eat it?”

They all jumped, not hearing Bellamy come up behind them.

“I don’t know.”

“Well, I’m not taste-testing the Fish-Thing.” Mbege said, shaking his head vehemently,

“Then leave it. We need to get a move on.” Bellamy glanced at everyone gathered around. “The drop ship doesn’t have any food or water on board and we don’t know where the others are. Hunger and thirst are real. We need to find something, before people start dying.” He stressed the last word, meeting each person’s eyes significantly. He continued. “Preferably, we find the rest of the dropship, so we can work together on this. Either way, we can’t be playing around right now. It’s our lives at stake.”

They all sobered up and the boys hurried off to collect their shoes and socks. Clarke pulled hers off from around her neck, She turned toward Bellamy, who was waiting, clearly impatient.

She began, “We also need to find a way to start fire, if we find any fresh water we’ll need to-“ 

Bellamy cut her off with a withering look.

“We don’t have time for fighting, but don’t think I’m going to be all buddy-buddy with you. Your Mother is one of the reasons mine was floated. You and the whole council can join her for all I care.”

And he walked away.

Clarke had to take a deep calming breath, before getting ready to follow him. And she kept some distance between them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there’s, nine of them stuck together. Clarke, Finn, Monty, Bellamy, Murphy, Mbege, Del, Trina and Fox. Hope that helps.
> 
> And normally I’m the biggest fan of not-really-redeemed-but-kinda Murphy.   
> But this is Season 1 era, so Murphy is a violent egotistical jerk. Breaks my heart, but it only makes sense. I’m sure I’ll write something else that gives my prickly Murphy a chance to shine.

They were on an island. 

They had spent five hours walking along the shoreline, passing cliffs, trees that seemed to grow straight out of the water and a field covered with tiny purple and orange flowers. They had gawked at everything, at all the colors and shapes they would never see on the Ark. 

But after those five hours, they found themselves exactly where they started.

Clarke looked wide-eyed from their old sandy footprints to the other delinquents. She could see the same realization on the others’ faces; the realization that they were surrounded on all sides by water. The rest of the drop ship was out of reach. Wells, their contact with the Ark, the other delinquents, all of them were gone to who knows where. 

The breeze ruffled Finn and Monty’s hair as they stared at the footprints in the sand, quiet and retrospective. Mbege, Murphy and Del began talking all at once, voices growing louder and more chaotic. Bellamy’s dark skin turned pale, like ash, and he lurched to sprint up the nearest ridge. Clarke knew he was going to look for a better vantage point, but she didn’t follow. It wouldn’t change anything. They were stuck on this island, out of reach of everyone else they knew. 

They were alone.

——

Monty found a Coconut Tree. 

Clarke had thought coconuts would be brown and hairy. But instead they were a bright green, nestled up under the tree’s leaves. After a half-hour of Finn throwing fist-sized rocks, they were able to knock a few down. 

They headed back toward camp, weary after a full day of walking and overwhelmed by the foreign heat, but with coconuts in tow. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

Back in dropship clearing, they found Trina and the now-awake Fox sitting under a tree. Del raced toward them to immediately. He began chattering and he proudly presented the coconut he’d been carrying.

Fox just gave a few weary nods in response but Trina stopped him eventually to ask, “How do you open it?”

Del deflated. He glanced back toward Monty, who just shrugged.

Finn ventured, “Smash it with a big rock?” 

Del immediately turned to grab the biggest rock he could find.

“Let’s try it.”

They placed a coconut on the ground and Del raised the rock over his head. He bellowed and threw the rock down forcefully.

And missed the coconut by a foot. 

Murphy and Mbege snorted. Finn patted Del on the back with a “Nice try, buddy.” Mbege picked the rock back up, waving a hand, “I’ve got this.”

He had just lifted the rock over his head, when Bellamy rushed out of the trees.

Finn arched an eyebrow. “Look who decided to join us.”

Bellamy ignored him and blurted out, “There’s land.”

“Land?” Several of them repeated.

He nodded, pointing just left of the dropship.

“Across the water in that direction is land. If we use wood from the island and some straps from the dropship, we can make a boat to get across.”

Learning there was a way to leave the island, and a possibility of reuniting with the others, was surprisingly reassuring. It gave Clarke a rush of hope in something more than just surviving. She might see her mother again. They could all see their friends and family again.

Clarke nodded breathlessly, “That could work.”

“Great,” Bellamy replied. “Now, if most of us go looking for wood, a couple others can start-“

Clarke interrupted him, “Wait, you mean, build a boat right now?”

Bellamy stopped and glanced at everyone’s wide-eyed expressions. He straightened up.

“It’s the only chance we have of getting back to the rest of the dropship.”

Clarke shook her head, disbelieving, “We haven't even found water yet, what makes you think we have time to build a boat?”

Bellamy’s features hardened, “And who says you're the judge of that? Murphy’s right, giving orders is in your blood. It’s all you’ve done since we’ve landed.” He looked to the others. “Well, blind obedience isn’t in our blood, we won’t be doing what you tell us to.”

Clarke huffed, “It’s not just me, it’s common sense. You even said it earlier, if we want to live, we need to find the necessities first.”

“We can do that while working on a way off the island.”

Clarke sighed, taking a moment to ponder of a way to get through to him. 

She moved closer, looking carefully into Bellamy’s eyes. “I get it, you’re worried about your sister.” 

He gulped in response, but his jaw was still tight. 

She continued, “But you’ll never get to her if we run out of water first. We need to think about priorities here. Food, water and shelter come before building boats.”

Bellamy opened his mouth, about to respond, when Finn stepped in. 

“Clarke’s right. We can’t spare the time or effort to build a boat now.”

Bellamy turned to stare him down, his expression unimpressed. “Did you come all the way down here just to take orders from a Griffin again? Did you learn nothing from when the council locked you up?”

“They locked me up too!” Clarke said indignantly.

Bellamy ignored her, “And there’s nine of us, we can do all four at the same time, the boat, water, food. Multi-tasking. It’s a thing.” Then he gestured to the ruins of the dropship, “We don’t even need shelter, we’ve got it already.”

Murphy spoke up, “There’s probably more water and food on the mainland anyway.”

Clarke shook her head, “We don’t know that.” She looked to everyone else, “Seven of us spent the entire afternoon searching the island and all we found were a few coconuts. It won’t be enough. We have no fresh water and no real earth skills. Feeding ourselves and getting water is going to take more effort than we think.”

Bellamy scoffed, “We weren’t looking for food and water, we were scoping out the land. Trust me, we’re not planning on dying.” Mbege let out a “yeah” to back him up. Bellamy continued, “And there’s a big difference between surviving and living. Knocking down coconuts for months on end in the middle of the ocean is surviving. Finding the rest of the Dropship and our families? That’s living.”

“Not that you’d understand what that means, Griffin.” Murphy added. “Because you’re such a heartless bi-“

“Hey!” Finn interrupted him with a glare.

Trina quietly said, “I want to get back to the others.”

Clarke looked at Trina for a moment, trying to decide how to reply. And then she realized that almost everyone had a similar expression. They all looked wistful, desperate, with wide eyes and uneasy stances. Fox wouldn’t meet her gaze. Bellamy’s eyes had a bit of a maniac expression to them. Monty had his fists clenched, conflict obvious in his features.

Clarke let out a slow breathe and said her next words firmly, “We can’t get back to the others if we’re dead.”

Monty spoke for the first time, his words hesitant, “Maybe we should focus on food and water for a couple days and then we can start on a boat?”

Instantly, Clarke wanted wrap her arms around him. After being surrounded by people ready to kill themselves because BELLAMY suggested it, Monty’s words felt like the ground was right-side up again. Clarke’s impulse was to throw all her support behind Monty’s idea, but she had a feeling that HER speaking up would only make it worse.

Luckily, she didn't have to, because, despite all of Bellamy’s glowering and teeth-grinding, the majority of the group agreed with Monty. Trina and Fox had seemed a bit hesitant in their approval, Murphy and Mbege were still backing Bellamy up, but Clarke, Finn and Del all agreed. 

It was official. Two days of focusing on food and water, then they would start on the boat.

Soon, after, they started settling down and Mbege managed to open the coconuts. (Which were less sweet than Clarke expected. For some reason she thought it would taste like candy.) They drank the liquid inside and scraped the insides for the pulp. 

It was something, but they still went to sleep that night aching stomachs and dry throats. 

In the dropship that night, as everyone settled down to sleep, Clarke set herself up next to Finn. It was as far away from Bellamy and Murphy as she could get. 

As the others fell asleep, she played with her wristband, deep in thought. She knew that the wristbands should, in theory, be sending their vital signals to the Ark. But it was unlikely the Ark would be able to pinpoint their location from the information. 

Even if they could, would the Ark really spare the supplies to help nine delinquents? Delinquents stuck in the middle of the ocean? Ones that they had sent hurtling down to the ground because they were “expendable”? No, they could’t count on the Ark trying to help them. Which left Clarke to ponder how to best help a group of delinquents survive, especially when they seemed so hellbent on dying. 

Most of the others hated her, especially Murphy and Bellamy. She also thought about the gun that Bellamy had hidden away. Most of the others had forgotten its existence. But Clarke was painfully aware of it. Of the fact that it would just take one move of a finger for kill someone. One second for one of them to be dead. That and she wasn’t Bellamy’s favorite person at the moment. He wanted to get to his sister more than anything and she had a feeling he saw her as the biggest obstacle to that. And she thought about how easy it would be for him to get rid of her. One pull of the trigger and she wouldn’t be a problem anymore. 

She didn’t really know him. None of them did really. Would he be the kind of person to do that? To kill someone to get what he wants?

She couldn’t help thinking it would be better if she stayed quiet. But it wasn’t really like her to let somebody else take the reigns, especially when it came to people’s lives.

So she did stuff like this, like making enemies with someone with a gun.

When she finally fell asleep, it was with her wary eyes on the motionless figures on the other side of the dropship floor.

——

Clarke woke to screaming.

High pitched shrieks rang through the ruins of the dropship as Clarke hurried to her feet. She dodged the others’ grumbling forms on the floor and hurried to the other side of the metal ship. 

The first thing she saw, upon reaching the spot where the Dropship opened to grass, was Murphy. He sitting on the ground, legs sprawled out before him, laughing. And then she saw Trina jumping and squealing. She was running her hand through her hair and yelling, “Is on me? Is it gone?”

Clarke heard a heavy sigh next to her. She turned to see Bellamy, gun in hand, rubbing at red-rimmed eyes. Clarke stiffened at the sight of the gun, watching carefully as Bellamy tucked it away into the waistband of his pants.

“Murphy!” He barked out. “What is this?”

Murphy shrugged, a smirk on his lips. “Just a wake-up alarm.”

“Trina.” Clarke called to the girl, who was now taking heavy breaths. She had her arms wrapped around herself protectively. “Are you alright?”

Trina shivered while glaring at Murphy. 

“Go float yourself, Murphy.”

Bellamy stared him down, “Murphy, what did you do?”

“Relax, she’s fine, she just got a little more acquainted with the wildlife.” Murphy held up his hand. In between his finger and thumb, there was a long-legged bug with an absurd amount of appendages writhing. “And even if the thing bit off her head,” He leered at Clarke, “Princess here could reattach it.”

Clarke shook her head. “Real mature, Murphy.”

Bellamy stepped closer to him. “You realize how stupid that was, right? We’re already all on edge. Crap like this just makes it worse.”

Murphy huffed in reply. He stood up and wiped the dust off his pants before leaving with a “Whatever.”

Clarke looked back to Bellamy. His hair was all messed up, having woken up to Trina’s screams. It gave him an almost non-threatening look. Too bad he was a threat. She couldn’t help thinking how useful it would be if Bellamy and her weren’t at odds all the time. Especially because most of the others obeyed him like model children. 

Bellamy squinted in her direction.

“Since, we’re already all up, we might as get started.” He said before walking away. “Let’s go find your water.”

——

They decided to split up.

Bellamy, Finn and Trina headed to the center of the island to look for water.

With Fox staying at the Dropship, that left Clarke, Monty, Del, Mbege and Murphy to look for food.

Del had jumped up, chattering about a new idea. He had dashed towards the beach, some homemade-contraption in hand. The others, with parched throats and eyes bleary, took their time getting ready and eventually followed him in the direction of the beach. 

When they arrived, they found Del sitting on a rock, holding his weird, fragile looking thing.

“What’s that?” Mbege asked.

Del held it up proudly, “A fishing rod. I made it.”

Clarke looked it over skeptically. Whatever it was, it looked like it was about to fall apart any second. 

“How?”

“Some wire and part of one of the straps.”

“Does it work?” Mbege asked.

At that, Del seemed to deflate a little, “Maybe, I haven’t caught anything yet.”

“How long have you been sitting there?”

“Like thirty minutes, I think it’s supposed to take a while.”

Murphy snorted, “Sure.”

Del ducked his head down, biting his lip. 

“It’s worth a try.” Clarke ventured. Del shot her a grateful look. 

Clarke continued, “But the rest of us should start looking for coconuts trees or other plants.”

Murphy smirked, “Real specific there, Griffin.”

Monty, turning away from Del, said in aside to Clarke, “You know what? I haven’t seen any fish the entire time we’ve been here.”

Clarke shrugged.

“Maybe that’s normal?”

Suddenly, Del’s excited cries rang out.

“Wait! I think I-“

He started tugging at the now taut line. All the delinquents paused to watch. 

He let out a giddy laugh, “I can’t believe it actually worked, I-“

The entire line finally made it out of the water, to reveal a leaf.

Mbege chuckled, “Dude, you suck at this.”

Clarke sighed in disappointment, having thought Del had actually caught something. At this rate, they were going to die faster from hunger or thirst faster than anything radiation could be doing. Or, she even thought about old stories of people stuck on islands and the horrible things they would do to each other to survive. 

As Mbege and Murphy continued teasing Del, she turned to Monty, “What kind of edible plants grow by the beach?” 

“There’s probably seaweed, but none of us can really swim to get to it. There might be Mangos or Citrus or Peppers or Onions. Probably others I can't think of right now.”

Clarke glanced back at the other boys, Del had gone back to trying to catch a fish, Murphy and Mbege were walking the opposite direction.

“Well, let’s start looking.”

They started walking, eyes on the trees and vegetation lining the beach. They were walked in silence for a few minutes, focused. What do onion plants even look like anyways? They could be walking past a feast’s-worth of edible plants and Clarke wouldn’t even know.

Finally Monty broke the quiet, “So, hope you don’t mind me asking, what’d you do on the Ark to get put in isolation?”

Clarke glanced over at him, “Found out a secret that the council wanted to keep quiet. How about you?”

Monty looked tempted to pursue what Clarke said but he moved on, “Got a hold of one of the more… recreational plants in the gardens. Got caught. My best friend and I-“ Monty paused, suddenly emotional, before continuing. “We were both sent to the Skybox.”

“Is he with the rest of the dropship? Your best friend?”

He took a deep breath, “Yeah, uh, if they survived… I-“ Monty nervously glanced in Clarke’s direction. “I think we should be getting food and water first thing, but I- I really really want to get back to the others too.”

Clarke met Monty’s gaze reassuringly, “Yeah. There’s people I want to get back to too.”

Monty just nodded quietly.

“What’s your friend’s name?” Clarke asked.

“Jasper.”

“Well, I’m sure he’ll be excited to see you again soon.”

Monty gave a shaky laugh, “Yeah, it’ll be funny to see. He’s a little over-the-top.” 

He said the words like it was a good thing, a small smile on his lips. Clarke gave a smile back.

“I’ll look forward to seeing it.”

Then, as his eyes darted away, Monty halted, features going slack.

Clarke stopped too and, confused, asked, “What?” 

Monty pointed to the ground surrounding the tree line, “Do you see that?”

She looked over. At first, she had no idea what he was talking about. But then she noticed the barest trickle of water making it’s way down a divot in the sand. 

“Is that…?”

“Maybe.” Monty replied. “Only one way to find out.”

They entered the tree line to see more water bubbling toward the ocean. Clarke and Monty grinned at each other excitedly and started hurrying inland, following the water.

——

There was a lake towards the center of the island. It was scarcely bigger than a pond, but it was fresh water. Clarke and Monty had shouted for joy when they first came upon it.

And then, thankfully, they came across Bellamy, Trina and Finn while on their way back to camp. They worked together to create a sort of carrying system using some plastic from the dropship. Monty and Fox worked on a fire back at camp to start boiling water as quickly as possible. As soon as the first patch of water cooled to a temperature that was barely not boiling hot, they took turns gulping it down. The sensation of fresh water after more than a day of thirst was indescribably relieving. They gulped down three batches, joking about the Ark’s recycled water as they did.

By the end of the day, they had a surplus supply of water. Murphy and Mbege had found a few more coconuts and some brightly colored plants that Monty said were peppers. They were big and kinda sweet. There was real laughter around the fire and their stomachs felt a feeling close to satisfaction.

But not quite. They had a reliable supply of water now, but nothing close to a real source of food. And the more time they spent without true sustenance, they weaker they became, making it more difficult to put in the effort to search for food.

She felt someone nudge her shoulder.

“What are you thinking about so hard? You’re going to get wrinkles.” Finn asked, firelight flickering over his playful expression.

The others around them chattered, biting into yellow and orange peppers. But Finn focused on her, eyebrows raised. Clarke opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by Del’s excited yell from the woods.

“Guys! You’ve got to come see this!”

“You say that about everything Del!” Finn called back.

“No, seriously, the water’s crazy-looking! You gotta see it!”

Murphy waved his hand dismissively, “He probably found another leaf.”

Most of the others laughed, but Finn stood up. “It could actually be worth seeing this time.” He pushed his hair out of his face and reached a hand toward Clarke. “Come with me?”

She let him pull her up and then glanced around at the others.

“Anyone else want to come?”

Trina stood up, brushing off her pants, “I haven’t gotten to go to the beach yet today.”

Fox pouted at her, “Well, I haven’t seen it at all.”

Bellamy sighed and then got up as well. 

“Yeah, we’ll take you then. Come help pick her up, Finn.”

The two boys linked hands to seat Fox carefully on their arms and then they were on their way. Clarke carefully avoided looking Bellamy’s direction and instead focused on Trina, who was complaining about the amount of bugs on the island. But she met eyes with Finn every once in a while, as he sent her winks and funny faces. They followed Del’s enthused chatter, until they came up on the beach-side ridge. And they all came to an abrupt stop.

There were lights in the ocean. 

Millions upon millions of blue tinted, glowing lights under the water. Glowing orbs filled the waves all the way to the horizon line, where they became minuscule dots. It made her heart pound. She had no idea what it could be, but it was stunning. It looked like another starry sky, to match the one above it. 

Del was excitedly jumping by where the sand met the water, yelling out again “See! See! I told you it was crazy!”

“Let’s get a closer look!” Trina said, already racing down the ridge.

“Be careful!” Clarke called after her, seeing her almost stable while running through the sand.

The rest of them followed slowly, with Clarke hardly able to tear her eyes away from the water. Finn and Bellamy, still carrying Fox, carefully navigated the slope of the ridge, while glancing up every few steps to the sight of the glowing ocean. When they finally reached the bottom, they set Fox down on a rock and all four of them turned to gawk at the water. 

Clarke, in all her Earth Skills classes and watching videos, had never seen anything like it. Surely they would have learned if the water could glow? Right?

Clarke murmured to Finn, “What do you think it could be?”

“The Lights look like they’re moving.” Finn said.

Clarke looked down at the water again and, sure enough, they were moving, just barely. All the lights were heading the same direction, but there was just some variation. Some would rise and fall with the water and some would even fight against the current and waves. The more she looked, the more they looked like semi-translucent orbs, floating along as they glowed.

Clarke gasped, turning to Finn.

“Do you think it’s the Jellyfish?”

His eyes went wide. 

“That would be a lot of Jellyfish.”

Clarke turned back around just in time to see Trina jumping into the water.

“Trina!” Clarke and Bellamy called out at the same time. Clarke hurried down toward the shoreline.

Trina turned around with a grin, “Don’t worry, I’m not going that deep. I just want a closer look.”

Bellamy shouted from behind Clarke, “We don’t kn-“, but he was cut off by Del whooping as he ran into the water too. Bellamy gave a sigh of frustration. 

Finn came up behind them, “Did you expect for them to listen? They’re teenage delinquents. Of course they’re going to ignore you when there’s glowing water involved.

“Not helping.” Clarke shot back.

And then came a splash and ear-splitting shriek.

Bellamy instantly sprinted into the water as Del yelled out, “Trina! There’s something wrong with Trina!”

Clarke’s eyes sought out Trina, who, only seconds earlier was playing in the waves, was now motionless. The others all hurried to the shoreline, watching breathless as Bellamy grabbed Trina’s limp figure from out of the water. He then, chest heaving, laid her dripping form on the sand. Del was saying, “I thing she touched one of the glowing things and then she freaked out.”

Clarke lurched forward. She pushed the others aside, so her fingers could find Trina’s pulse. She looked up, mouth dry.

“She’s dead.”

And they all stared at her in horror.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So quick recap: Broody Blake’s got a gun. But he doesn’t get his boat project, not yet. Clarke is the unpopular girl. And last, but not least, don’t hug a Post-Apocalyptic Jellyfish, Trina serves as Exhibit A.
> 
> Also, notice how Clarke asks herself if Bellamy is the kind of guy to kill someone to get what he wants. And our first impulse would be to trust the characters we love, but… remember how Bellamy got onto the dropship in the first place? Just putting that out there.
> 
> And Monty is awesome.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, the action made this chapter more difficult to write. Sorry about the delay. Hopefully some Bellarke bonding helps soothe that over. (nervous laughter)
> 
> On a positive note, I'm freaking out about the new Season Premiere!

They buried Trina on the hill. Facing the water to the ‘other land’. 

As Mbege and Bellamy filled the grave, the rest watched on. 

Fox let a sob from where she was sitting. Monty laid a hand on her shoulder hesitantly, just as unsure as the rest of them how to console her. Or how to console anyone.

Del was the most withdrawn, vacantly staring as the grave grew deeper and deeper.

Finn came to stand next to Clarke, the heat of his form over-lapping with her own.

“I hate to be the person that asks, but after this, what do we do next?” he murmured.

Clarke looked out at the waves, with it’s miles and miles of glowing rings of light. It was so vivid that it put the starry sky of the previous nights to shame. 

How could something so breathtaking be so dangerous?

Finn continued, leaning even further into Clarke’s space, “How do we get everybody moving past this?”

Clarke wanted to have the perfect answer to that question. How to help everyone move forward. But she didn’t even know how SHE was supposed to move forward.

She thought about a plant that she had learned about while on the Ark. A carnivorous plant. 

It would lure in insects with a promising scent and bright colors. And then it would consume the animal instead. Stealing the lives of the same creatures that came to admire it.

Was that how this new earth worked? 

They had watched Earth from the Ark longingly. Clarke spent many of her months in Isolation, holding onto dreams of starlight flickering through leaves and the taste of fruit straight off the tree.

But did they come all this way only to find that… this was all the earth was? A stunning trap? Another of Death’s alluring masks? 

Clarke looked at the pale faces surrounding her. At Fox’s tear-stained cheeks and Finn’s questioning eyes. 

After centuries of longing, this earth was a stranger to them. And that realization was terrifying.

——

Over the next few days, they realized the Jellyfish would come and go in currents. 

Sometimes, the water was brimming with beautiful and menacing lights, flowing like some river of moonlight within the ocean.

At other times, the water was a bright clear blue expanse. 

At these times, when the water was, Clarke assumed it would be okay to enter the water. With caution. 

But instead, they all gave the ocean a wide berth, no matter what it looked like.

And Bellamy had taken over their little camp.

Many of the delinquents would bring in fruits and vegetables consistently. 

But Bellamy was the only one to actually bring in meat.

The first time he had walked into camp, killed-rodent in hand, everyone cheered. Even Fox and Del, who were visibly having the hardest time with Trina’s death, raised their hands with a happy shout.

It still wasn’t enough to completely fill them (something which worried Clarke, the weaker and weaker they started to become from malnutrition), but it elevated their pitiful meals of coconut, wild onions and peppers, to something truly edible.

Since then, he’d brought in small pieces of meat for their nightly meals. So, when Bellamy started setting up hunting expeditions, almost everyone followed him without question. Fox, Mbege and Del practically worshiped him, always looking Bellamy’s way for the next order. And Murphy wouldn’t respond to ANY instruction unless it was given by Bellamy. 

Despite their differences (and the fact that Bellamy was a BULLY) Clarke couldn’t help but respect his abilities. The age gap between Bellamy and the rest of them seemed glaringly obvious. 

Even with the hunting groups organized, nobody brought in animals nearly as often he was able to. He was physically stronger than any of them, excepting maybe Mbege. He had even been the first to respond when Trina was in trouble.

All things that begrudgingly impressed Clarke.

And then Bellamy would go on and do something (like rant about building boats again or join Murphy in tormenting her) and Clarke would remember why part of her wished he never landed on the island with them.

However, surprisingly, the biggest opposition against Bellamy was Finn.

Who was currently debating with Bellamy over the food and water schedules. 

Finn and Bellamy stood by the fire, Finn’s voice getting louder and louder the more they argued. Finn kept swiping his hair back aggressively as he vented out his frustration. And Bellamy refused to respond to anything except with an annoying smirk.

Clarke found herself not wanting to be pulled into this particular argument.

The second her eyes caught Fox and Del by the fire, busy boiling water for drinking, she made her escape.

She plopped down next to Fox, “How’s the leg doing? Is there any extra pain after we switched the brace this morning?”

Fox shook her head.

“Just like usual.” She frowned down at her healing leg. “I just wish it be back to normal already, you know? We’re on EARTH. I’m stuck tending the fire all day while you guys do REAL work and explore.”

Before Clarke could reassure her, Del spoke.

“Well, turns out tending the fire is better than being out there.”

His voice was bitter, as he stabbed violently at the burning logs in front of them with a stick. All three of them stared into the fire for a moment, thinking about the grave just a couple minutes away.

“Trina and I knew each other in the Skybox.”

Clarke turned to Fox, “Really?”

Fox gave a humorless chuckle, “Well, when there’s less than 100 of you, you get to know each other pretty well.”

Clarke turned back to stare at the fire.

“I wouldn't really know what that’s like, I didn’t see anybody except guards really while I was in Isolation.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Fox replied. Clarke could feel Fox’s gaze on then side of her face before she continued, “Well, Trina and I weren’t really friends, but we’d talk sometimes when they let us out into the commons. She had this huge crush on this guy. I forget his name, wasn’t my type, but she was dead-gone for the guy. She’d always spend, like, forever on her hair because she wanted to impress him.”

She paused for a moment, “It’s funny what you end up remembering about a person.”

Del’s log-stabbing grew more pronounced.

Clarke’s thoughts started drifting to Trina. Her boy, if he was alive, was probably with the rest of the delinquents. Had Trina been hoping to find him as much as the rest of them? If she had been reunited with him, could they have had a relationship?

And they all thought about Trina.

Clarke had managed to keep herself busy the past few weeks. Throwing herself into work meant less time to look back, to regret. So Clarke had been fetching water, foraging for fruits and vegetables, checking up on Fox’s leg.

But when things grew quiet, Clarke heard Trina’s scream echoing in her ears. And when Clarke closed her eyes at night, she saw Trina running into the waves, right towards what killed her. If Clarke could have warned Trina away from the water or reacted quicker, maybe Trina would still be with them today.

Bellamy’s call to attention pulled Clarke from her thoughts.

“We’re running low on food for dinner tonight, so I’m taking out another hunting party. Any volunteers to join?”

Del’s hand shot up the instant Bellamy said the word ‘volunteers’.

Bellamy nodded, “Just one more person then.”

Monty spoke up hesitantly, “Maybe I could try making a trap?”

Bellamy considered it a moment.

“That could be fine, as long as it doesn’t pull away from your other tasks.”

Clarke, realizing that staying at camp would mean more time with her thoughts (specifically thoughts of Trina), raised her hand.

“I’ll go.”

Murphy snorted, “Ark’s princess is volunteering to do extra work? What, are you going just so you can stab Bellamy in the back?”

Clarke opened her mouth to give a retort, but before she could even say anything, Finn burst in.

“Clarke’s been working harder than almost everyone. Who do you think has been taking care of Fox’s leg on top of all her usual work? She’s definitely been doing more than you.”

Murphy’s eyes narrowed in Finn’s direction.

Clarke spoke before things could escalate, “I want to get more experience hunting. I’ve mostly been gathering up ’til now.”

Bellamy shrugged, “The princess can come if she really wants to. We’ll head out in five. Bring a knife.”

——

They were all quiet. 

Clarke didn't find it unusual for Bellamy and her to be working in silence, in fact she preferred it to him picking on her. But for Del to be so quiet felt a little unnerving.

Clarke adjusted her grip on her ‘knife”. Really it was a sharpened scrap of the Dropship, but it’s presence gave her just a little more comfort in the unfamiliar surroundings. So far on the island, all they’d found were birds, rodents and insects, but, after the jellyfish, Clarke didn't want to come across another deadly surprise and be unarmed.

Clarke glanced over at Bellamy. There was also the gun he had tucked under his shirt. As he threw his knife after a group of startled birds, she could see its outline against his back. 

As Bellamy brought back a bird, he shoved it towards Clarke.

“You can be in charge of holding what we catch.”

She pursed her lips but took the dead bird without comment.

Bellamy jerked his head towards Del, “We’re coming up on a watering spot. Be ready to catch any of the animals we find there.”

Del tightened his grip on the knife and nodded wordlessly. Clarke hung back as the two boys crept forward. She looked out into the shadowy underbrush surrounding them, imagining horror that could be waiting to pounce on them.

Her eyes caught on rocky divot among some of the bushes. Walking closer, she noticed that the dip went deeper than she expected. In fact, once she pushed some leaves out of the way, she found there was an impressive size hole leading into the ground, barely noticeable from the rocks and bushes surrounding it.

As she studied it, she could hear Bellamy murmuring discontentedly, “…Usually there’s more than that. Maybe we’re-“

“Guys, come look at this.” Clarke called out to them.

When the boys came into view, an annoyed Bellamy immediately began scolding her, “Are you trying to scare everything away, Princess?”

She didn’t acknowledge his griping. 

“Just come look.”

As they came closer, Del spoke for the first time since they left camp.

“Is that a cave?”

Clarke shrugged.

“Only one way to find out, I guess.”

Checking to see if the boys were following behind, Clarke made her way into the Hollow in the ground. 

Picking her way among the rocks lining the descent into the darkness, she accidentally knocked some pebbles into the open space, where the clattering noise echoes off the walls. With her eyes unadjusted to the sudden darkness, the space seemed eerily black, but already she could tell the space was much larger than the opening in the ground made it seem. 

“Is it just me, or did it suddenly get colder?” She asked.

“It probably gets colder the further you get underground.” Bellamy observed, passing Clarke as he continued descending. 

Clarke and Del followed him down until the ground below them seemed to level out. As their eyes continued to adjust, they found that the cave went on and on. In fact, Clarke couldn’t see the end of it. Just the walls along the side and weird shaped rocks.

“How far do you think it goes?” Del asked.

“No idea.” Clarke responded, “But who would have thought that all this was down here? It’s huge.”

She studied the odd rocks. Shaped like cones, they lined the floor and, strangely enough, hung down from the ceiling of the cave. As strange as the shape was, they gave the impression of giant fangs within a dark mouth.

Del shivered, “It’s kinda creepy actually.” Then he brightened for a moment, looking so much like the Del Clarke was used to, that she couldn’t help giving small smile, “I actually remember learning about these things at some point. I think the rocks are called Stala…gaties?”

Bellamy chuckled, “That definitely sounds wrong.”

“Yeah, well it’s something like that.” Del mumbled.

Clarke, taking in the freezing air around them, had a sudden idea.

“You know, this is actually great!”

Del and Bellamy turned to her, eyebrows raised questioningly.

“We can start stockpiling food in here! The lower temperatures should keep the food from going bad for longer.”

Bellamy sighed.

“The moment we have enough food to start storing it, we should be heading across the water. We don’t need to bother stockpiling anything.”

Clarke rolled her eyes. They were back to Bellamy’s boat obsession.

“Ok, yeah, we’ll start working on that boat soon, but it would be stupid not be prepared for it taking longer than we think it will.”

Bellamy’s expression darkened.

“So far, the only thinking making this longer than it needs to be is you.”

Clarke defended herself, “I’m not holding anything back, I’m just using my common sense!”

Del hesitantly broke in, “Guys, do you hear-“

Bellamy spoke over him.

“If you had your way, we’d be on this island forever, surrounded by killer-jellyfish!”

“Of course, not! I’m just saying-“

Del spoke up again, “No, listen, really there’s something-“

Bellamy began shouting, “We didn't come all the way down to earth for some spoiled brat to tell us the WRONG thing to do!”

“I don’t know what wrong with you that you can’t see that it’d be idiotic not to prepare! If we-“

Del physically stepped in between them.

“Guys! This is important! I think there’s something in the cave with-“

Over the boys’ shoulders, Clarke saw something MASSIVE moving in the shadows.

She screamed, scrambling backwards, “Watch out!”

A giant claw clamped onto Del’s arm and pulled him into the shadows surrounding them.

“Del!” Clarke lurched forward.

Clarke grabbed onto Del’s leg in the darkness. While, next to them, Bellamy hit at the creature with his makeshift knife.

The massive creature flinched away from Bellamy’s attack and disappeared into the darkness with a few faint clicks.

Clarke pulled the groaning Del closer to her, feeling over his arm.

“Clarke, we need to get out of here now.”

She glanced up at Bellamy in the dark, knife missing from his hand. 

“Maybe you scared it away?”

She could just barely make out Bellamy shaking his head. He reached down to pull the still moaning Del into his arms.

“It had some kind of armor, my knife didn’t even make a dent, just knocking it out o fly hand. We need to get out now.”

Bellamy began hurrying to the cave exit. Clarke rushed to follow him.

“Maybe you should get your gun out?”

He huffed.

“Bad idea, I don’t know how the cave-“

He was cut off as something hit them in the back.

The hit sent Clarke careening to the floor, where she scrambled to get back to her feet.

And there it was, the giant THING.

Closer to the cave exit, Clarke was able to finally see what the creature was.

It was a crab.

A crab the size of a horse. And it was standing between them and the exit.

It’s eyes swiveled between them and it’s claws were extended menacingly. 

Next to Clarke, Bellamy was getting to his feet and Del was completely still on the cave floor.

“Clarke, give me your knife.” Bellamy said.

She hesitated a moment before handing it over wordlessly.

The moment the knife was in his hand, Bellamy launched toward the Crab. Clarke stood over Del and watched anxiously as Bellamy skirted around the crustacean. 

When the Crab suddenly lashed out, Bellamy ducked under it, knife still in hand.

“Bellamy, I don’t think the knife’s going to work!”

Bellamy ignored Clarke’s shout and aimed towards where the crab’s leg and body met. The point of his knife reached the crease by the Crab’s shell but he had to swerve away last second when the Crab’s claw swung around.

“Bellamy, use your gun!”

He shot Clarke a glare.

“Stop distracting me!”

The Crab’s claw connected with Bellamy’s torso, throwing him onto the floor with heavy thud.

And Bellamy’s gun skidded across the Cave floor, stopping at the base of one of the rocks.

Clarke reflexively snatched it up ad leveled it at the Crab, like she had seen in the movies she watched on the Ark.

Bellamy, scrambling to his feet, reached a hand out to stop Clarke.

“Don’t shoot!”

But as the Crab rushed towards her, Clarke panicked. 

She pulled the trigger. 

And despite the recoil almost knocking the gun out of her hands, she immediately shot the gun two more times. With the noise magnified by the walls of the cave, the three shots were more heard than seen. The noise was actually so loud, it close to deafening.

And none of the shots even came near the spooked Crab.

Instead, they hit the cave wall opposite, where sparks lit up for a millisecond as the bullets ricocheted. And the bullets shot back in their direction.

Clarke cowered as they flew past her. Bellamy swore when a bullet grazed his upper arm.

The Crab, cowering at the sudden noise, collided into one of the surrounding cone-shaped rocks, snapping the rock off the floor.

As the Crab, pulled back to its feet, Bellamy met Clarke’s eyes.

“I have an idea.” He panted out, sweat dripping down his face. “Can you distract it?”

Clarke, taking another glance at the Giant Crab, swallowed heavily, but nodded.

“I’ll try.”

Clarke placed the gun on the ground and picked up a few small stones. She moved a ways away, putting space between her and the Crab.

Throwing them at the Crab, she gave a loud shout.

“Look over here! Come on!”

Sure enough the Crab turned its attention to Clarke, thankfully deciding to gradually advance on her this time.

As the clicking of the Crab’s movements echoed through the cave, Clarke could see Bellamy ducking behind to grab ahold go the cone-shaped rock that the Crab had knocked down earlier.

As the Crab followed the shouting Clarke, Bellamy came up behind it with the rock in hand.

And then Bellamy stabbed the pointed end of the rock into where the Crab’s leg and body connected. The Crab staggered back under the blow and crashed into the wall behind it.

What happened next came so rapidly, Clarke barely had time to process it.

The Cave’s ceiling above them began to collapse, huge chunks of rock falling down on them. The largest of them fell where the crab was struggling, but Rocks tumbled down from all over.

Clarke and Bellamy staggered further back into the cave, towards where Del was laying. Clarke let out a cry of pain when a fist-sized rock crashed into her shoulder.

As her shoulder started to throb, Bellamy tugged her forward. And just as they reached Del’s prone form, the light rapidly disappeared around them as the rocks continued to fall. Clarke glanced back just in time to see the last bit of light from the entrance disappear under a falling rock.

Then it was pitch black. 

And the rumbling of moving stone stopped.

Clarke felt around her in the dark.

“Del? Del, are you ok?”

Clarke’s fingers met with someone’s arm and then she heard a groan.

“Del?”

A raspy voice answered.

“Here.”

Clarke, ignoring the throbbing in her shoulder, made her way closer to Del. The hand on Del’s arm came away wet. 

Del was bleeding. 

“Don’t worry Del, I’ll bandage you up, it’ll be fine.”

She began tearing strips off her shirt.

Del’s voice spoke up again, quietly, “Do you think this is punishment?”

Clarke paused for a moment, “Punishment?”

“Punishment for what happened to Trina.” He murmured. “It’s my fault you know, I was the first one to run into the water.”

“Del. That’s not- It wasn’t-“

“So stupid. So stupid….” His voice trailed off.

“Del?”

From his position by Del’s head, Bellamy sighed.

“He passed out.”

Clarke instantly returned to bandaging Del’s arm.

“It’s probably from blood loss.”

Bellamy was silent as Clarke finished up a tourniquet. In the dark, Clarke couldn’t be certain she was able to stop the bleeding. So she hovered over Del, not sure what to do.

She said, more to herself than anyone, “When we- When we get back to camp, I’ll be able to help disinfectant the wound more. We’ll just have to get back to camp.”

She allowed herself a shake nod.

“The others have probably noticed we’re missing by now. It shouldn't won’t be long.”

Bellamy gave a grunt of acknowledgment.

But despite what she said, Clarke wasn’t stupid. And—as much as she hated him at times—she knew Bellamy wasn’t a complete idiot either.

They were underground, trapped by a pile of rocks, the others had no way to find them, Del needed real medical attention, and they were probably running out of air.

Things were grim. And they both knew it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m back, sorry to leave you on a cliffhanger! Enjoy!

Del’s heavy breathing seemed louder in the cold, pitch black. The sound echoed off the rocks surrounding them, filling up the space.

And then there were Bellamy’s fingers drumming over the metal gun. The gun with one bullet left.

Clarke ignored the sounds of the other two as she ran her hands over the rock wall. She pushed and tested some of the stones, careful to not send rocks tumbling down onto them. But none of the rocks seemed to give under Clarke’s exploration. She let out a shaky breathe when she realized that there were no holes in the wall of rocks. Which meant there was no way for them to get out. And, even worse, there was no way for air to come in.

So, they’d more likely run out of oxygen long before thirst could get to them.

Maybe if someone were to try and move the rocks from the other side, they could open up a space? But what were the chances of the others finding the entrance to the cave? And then being able to dig them out before the three of them suffocated to death? 

With those thoughts, Clarke became more and more conscious of the thinning air surrounding them. 

She sat down heavily on the cold ground and stared unseeing into the darkness.

“We should’ve checked the cave carefully as soon as we came in.” She said into the void. Not expecting a response, she continued, “Just like we should’ve checked the water before Trina and Del went in.”

Her words echoed off the walls to come back to her.

“We keep making these mistakes. Trina died because of it and we’re…” Clarke trailed off, unsure how to finish that sentence.

Bellamy’s voice joined in, “And we’ll end up just like her.”

Clarke shook her head despite knowing better, “The others are probably looking for us by now.”

“And what are the chances of them finding us? We're in a cave no one knows about, under a pile of rocks." Bellamy sighed, "I joined the Dropship for my sister, to be THERE for her, and I’m HERE. I’m dying in some hole in the ground. Stuck with YOU of all people.” 

Clarke opened her mouth to protest, but he beat her to it. “This-“ Bellamy stopped slam his hand against the ground, “is a grave. You, me and Del are in a grave.”

“Stop saying that Bellamy.”

“What, YOU’RE the “doctor”. You should know better than anyone. We’re dying here. Del’s injured and you’ve used up all our bullets by SHOOTING in a CAVE.” Bellamy’s voice began getting louder. “And if you weren’t so stubborn, we could’ve been on a boat right now, heading towards the rest of the Dropship!”

Clarke clenched her fists, “There’s NO way I could have seen this coming! But what I could see was us starving to death because you were so obsessed with YOUR BOAT! I wasn’t going to let us all die because you were in a hurry to cross the water to who-knows-where!”

Bellamy growled, “The longer we stay here the more dangerous it gets! Just look around you! We’re all going to end up like Trina! If you had only listened to me-“

Clarke interrupted him, done with the conversation, “Can you shut up for one moment! You’re not the only one with people they want to get back to!”

Bellamy quietened.

She hurried to continue, before he started ranting again, “Monty’s best friend since birth is with the rest of the Dropship. He’s worried sick.” 

Clarke thought back to her and Monty’s conversation while looking for water, “He wants to get to the rest of Dropship too, probably almost as much as you. And everyone else has family on the Ark they want to get back to. It’s not just you, Bellamy.” Clarke shivered in the cold air. “Even I have people I miss too. I have the same goals as you.”

She paused a moment, wishing she could inject those words straight into his brain, force him to understand, “We all do. We all want to LIVE and get back to our people. It’s the same for each of us, Bellamy. WHY are we fighting each other all the time? It’s all we’ve done since we landed and I hate it.”

Del’s shaky breathing echoed in the brief silence.

She took a deep breath, wishing she could look Bellamy in the eyes, “You may be a bully and crazy stubborn, but I also see someone who would do anything for the people he cares about. And that’s a quality that we could use a little more of.” 

Her fingers began tracing random lines on the dusty ground as she continued, “We’re all just a bunch of kids. Any of us could die. All of us could die any second and- and we need people like you. People who are strong and willing to do what it takes to move forward. The others listen to you. They respect you. As much as you irritate me, I respect you. We need you.”

Clarke stopped her nervous tracing and wrapped her arms around herself, trying to fight the frigid air.

“My mom’s still up on the Ark. She’s the only family I have left. And my best friend is with the rest of the Dropship. I mean, he used to be my best friend. We’re not- It’s complicated.” She took a shaky breath, thinking about the desperate look in Well’s eyes the last time she saw him. “Truthfully, I hate him right now, have for almost a year. But-“ She stopped, surprised to feel tears gathering and her voice becoming hoarse. “I don’t want to die without ever seeing him again. I don’t- I-”

Clarke wiped at her eyes.

“I HATE him. But I don’t want- I don’t want him to- I don’t want stay stuck here forever when he might be-” She took a deep breath. She still wasn’t sure what to make of Wells. She hated him so much, but she didn’t want the memories they shared, whatever they had to disappear. Even if she despised him, she didn't want them to die in separate corners of earth, hidden away from each other.

She finally said hesitantly, almost to herself, “Is it possible to hate someone- hate them more than you ever thought was possible- and love them at the same time?”

Bellamy stayed silent next to her.

Clarke continued, the words falling out one by one.

“Is it possible to love someone who ruined your life?”

He finally scoffed, “Your life? Ruined? Forget who you are, Princess?”

She glared in his direction, despite him not being able to see it.

“Did you forget that my Dad was floated? Or that I was isolated for an entire year? It’s not exactly the pampered life you’re thinking of.”

Bellamy cleared his throat.

“Yeah, sorry about that. But you’re not the only one with a parent floated, and you have to admit you had a pretty comfy life otherwise.”

“Well, we’re BOTH stuck in this cave, no matter how ‘comfy’ our lives started out.”

Bellamy fell silent. And they sat quietly for several minutes, the only sound coming from the dripping stalactites and Del’s heavy breathing.

It felt like forever sitting in the darkness until Bellamy broke the silence.

“My mother never talked about Octavia’s father.” 

Clarke furrowed her brows, unsure why Bellamy was suddenly talking about his mother.

Bellamy continued, “I don’t know if he even knew she existed. It was always just the three of us, my mother, Octavia and I. Until- Until it was my fault she got caught.” 

His voice trailed off for a moment. Clarke stayed deathly quiet, confused, but not wanting to shake whatever was making Bellamy willing to share.

He finally cleared his throat before continuing. “There was, uh, a hollow space under the floor in our room. We’d hide her down there when inspections came. And we never let her leave the room, just in case she might get caught. She hadn’t even seen the outside of our compartment until the day she got sent to the Skybox.”

Clarke could hear Bellamy rubbing at the back of his neck, as he spoke, “She was stifled. Octavia tried not to complain too much, but she hated staying in that room. And she hated going under the floor even more. And I don’t know how you’re fed on Alpha, but there wasn’t really any excess food lying around Factory Station, so my mom and I would share our portions with her. It was barely enough. She never met anyone outside of my mother and I. That room and our family were her entire world.”

Clarke’s thoughts turned back to the walls now surrounding them. Imagining how it must be feel being kept in such a small space. For more than a decade. For the rest of her foreseeable future.

Bellamy’s voice grew firmer the more he spoke, “It wasn’t living. What she was going through. She didn’t know better, but she was just existing. Existing in that tiny space, only ever interacting with two other people. And despite that-“ 

Bellamy’s voice broke off for a moment before continuing. “Despite all of that, she was so strong. Brave. Full of life. So smart and curious. She was always asking about the rest of the Ark, asking about earth and,” He let out a sudden chuckle. “mythology and history. And she was like that from the very beginning. So powerful. She was always… she was my family. In some ways, she was more my family than my mother ever was. The day she was found out, the day she got sent to the Skybox… I- After that, I-“

As Bellamy struggled for words, she found herself wondering for the first time what it would be like to have a sibling. 

What it would be like to have a little sister like Octavia, someone she was willing to do anything for. Or what it would be like to have an older brother like Bellamy. To know that no matter where he was in the world, her brother would be fighting to support her.

Bellamy finally continued, breaking through Clarke’s thoughts, “I’ve been nothing. Just a body since the day she was taken away and my mother was floated. I was just some shell of a thing.” He let out a heavy breath. “Ever since she was born, my life revolved around her, and then she was gone and I couldn't do anything about it. I’m nothing without her.”

“But even though she meant so much to me, there were times when- I mean- I never had friends on the Ark, not really. There was always a chance they could find out about Octavia if they got too close. My mealtimes were always spent trying to figure out how to sneak food back to the room without anyone noticing. And every moment in our room, I was just waiting anxiously for the door to suddenly burst open, getting ready to hide Octavia.” Bellamy’s fingers twitched against the ground at the thought, accidentally brushing against Clarke’s wrist. But she ignored it, waiting for Bellamy’s next words.

“And sometimes, I resented my mother for that. For putting me in that situation. For letting that happen to all three of us. For not letting me live like everyone else my age on the Ark. And somedays, I couldn’t even- sometimes even Octavia was too much.” The words came out haltingly, almost painfully. “Octavia didn’t deserve it, but there were days when I’d put off coming back, because I had a hard time looking her in the eyes. Because, on days like that, it felt like my problems were her fault.”

Then Bellamy suddenly answered Clarke’s earlier question, “So-I’d say it’s possible. To love and to ha- to suffer because of one person.”

Clarke spoke for the first time in a while, “But you forgave her, Octavia?”

Bellamy startled at her words, before she could hear his shoulders shrug against the wall of the cave, “I don’t know if I’ll ever be TRULY over it, but there’s nothing to forgive. Not from her.”

Clarke thought about Bellamy’s sister. A girl she’d never met, sleeping under the floor.

And she thought about Bellamy, wandering the halls of the Ark late in the evening alone, guilt-stricken by his own feelings. 

And then Clarke thought about Wells, watching as her father was floated. 

“I don’t think I could ever forgive Wells, not for what he did to me.” Clarke spoke quietly.

Bellamy hesitated a moment before asking, “Wells, like, Wells Jaha?”

Clarke nodded, “Yeah.”

Bellamy was quiet again, so Clarke continued, “Our families were close, so we were friends ever since-“

“Could you stop?” Bellamy’s voice was cold, the coldest it’d been the entire time they’d been trapped together. 

His voice continued, still just as harsh as before. “I don’t care about you and your best friend’s little spat. We’re stuck in here. We’re stuck in here and we aren’t getting out.”

Clarke, taken aback by his sudden change in mood, stuttered out, “I- I mean-“ 

“We finally left the Ark and literally FELL from the sky in a metal death trap only to BE STUCK IN SOME HOLE!”

Next to Clarke, Bellamy shot to his feet and Clarke could hear him ramming himself into the walls. As Clarke scrambled up to her feet, small stones began rolling to meet her toes. She felt the impact of larger rocks as they fell close by.

“Bellamy! Stop! You’re going to bring the cave down on top of us! STOP!” 

Another large rock tumbled down next to them. Bellamy grunted as he hit the wall again. WHAT WAS WRONG WITH HIM?

“BELLAMY! STOP!”

Her hand found his shirt in the darkness and she instantly wrapped her hand in it, trying to physically stop him. But he just ignored her, shoving forward again.

“BELLAMY!”

And then Clarke saw light.

They both halted to stare up at the small opening among the rocks. 

Through the hole, the smallest bit of light was filtering through. And a trickle of fresh air.

Clarke hurried forward, feeling around the opening. Her enthusiasm dimmed slightly as she realized she could barely fit some of her fingers through the hole.

“I don’t know if we can move the surrounding rocks, they’re pretty big.” She turned to Bellamy, who she could finally see in the dim light, “And we probably don’t want to risk closing the hole.”

Bellamy’s eyes, which had been fixated on the new light streaming in, whipped around and hardened at her words, the kind of expression she accustomed to from him. He squared his shoulders and jutted his jaw out.

“That hole might be our escape. And you’re saying we shouldn't even try to get out?” He threw his hands up in exasperation, “If we stay here, there might as well be no hole at all. We’ll be dying at some point. Would you rather freeze to death or die of thirst first? Because one of those two things will be happening sooner or later if we leave you in charge.”

Clarke looked at him a moment before bursting into giggles.

Bellamy stared at her like she was crazy. Which, truthfully, she might be going mad. 

He shook his head in disgust, “What’s WRONG with you?”

Clarke sat down heavily where she stood, an unsteady smile stretching across her lips, “How ironic would it be to die of Hypothermia on a tropical island?”

Bellamy paused a moment, watching Clarke shake with laughter, before sighing.

“Can we just agree dying in general would be a bad idea?”

Clarke tried to pull herself together, taking deep breathes.

When she finally felt a little calmer, she suggested a new idea, “Okay, let’s say this. We’ve lost a lot of air in here, so we wait a bit to let some oxygen come in. Before we try moving any more rocks.”

Bellamy considered her offer.

“So you want us to wait…”

“About an hour.”

“Half an hour.” He countered.

Clarke nodded, deciding to let Bellamy have it.

“Half an hour.”

——

They sat in silence.

Del was still unconscious, laid out on the rocky ground, his condition not getting any better or worse.

Bellamy spent the time not acknowledging Clarke. Instead he stared holes into the rocks surrounding them and thrummed his fingers against his knee.

Then they heard it.

The muffled sound of distant voices.

Clarke’s and Bellamy’s eyes met in sudden shock before they bolted to their feet. And rushed to the hole in the wall. They yelled and shouted as loud as they could.

Some minutes later, Finn, Murphy and Monty found their way into the cave. 

And then it took what felt like many hours to dig a way out from both sides

They carefully maneuvered the still-unconscious Del through the widened opening. 

And when Clarke exited next, she was surprised upon exiting by Finn’s sudden embrace. They were both covered in dust, but Finn gripped her tight. Over his shoulder, Clarke saw Monty hovering, a concerned look on his face. And then the reality of what just happened hit her all at once.

She could’ve died. 

But she was out. 

Her, Bellamy and Del were all going to be okay.

Her hands trembled. Tears began to gather in her eyes.

And then they suddenly disappeared when Murphy, after helping Bellamy climb out, asked, “How was it being trapped with the Princess? Was she driving you insane?”

Clarke shot a glare Murphy’s direction. Before she noticed Bellamy very purposefully avoiding looking her direction. After a pause Bellamy responded.

“Well, she wasted just about all of our bullets and almost shot us up.”

Murphy snorted, “Of course.”

Clarke ground her teeth, hating that Bellamy would immediately return to insulting her. 

Especially after what they had just been through together.

Finn stiffened next to her, preparing to confront the other two, but Clarke placed a hand on his arm to stop him.

They needed to focus on priorities, which were namely 1) Getting Del back to camp, 2) Letting the others know they were ok and 3)….

Clarke pointed towards a pile of rocks not far from where they were standing.

“I hope everyone’s up for more digging. Because we might have the next few meals covered.”

——

Finn carried Del back to camp. 

The others worked to dig out the dead crab. It took about half an hour. And then it took all of them to transport it back to camp

But when they finally arrived, they had their first REAL meal in more than a week.

Murphy and Mbege ate so much boiled crab, they claimed they would explode. Finn practically died over each bite, stopping to send an occasional smile in Clarke’s direction.

And Clarke, still feeling exhausted from the cave, slowly made her way through her portion of crab. 

The meat was sweet on her tongue. Sweet in a way she had never experienced before. 

Glancing back at what was left of the crustacean, she noticed that most of the meat was left, even after stuffing their faces. In fact, there was still enough meat to last them days, as long as they found a way to keep it from spoiling

This might just be the thing that saves them.

Clarke stared at the mound of boiled crab, an idea forming in her mind. 

She gestured towards Monty across the fire.

He stopped mid-bite to send her a confused glance, hunk of crab in hand. But, when she waved him over again, he got up to join her.

Clarke smiled at him, “I’m going to need your help with something.”

——

Clarke stopped in the middle of whittling, wincing as the motion made her bruised shoulder ache. She ran her hand softly over the purpling skin peeking from the collar of her shirt. 

It would probably take weeks to heal. She wouldn’t be surprised if she cracked a bone.

But she didn’t really have the right to complain.

Fox still couldn’t walk, Bellamy was completely covered in bruises, including the bullet graze. And Del had only woken up that morning, only now BEGINNING to recover from the intense blood loss.

It was a miracle the three of them were still alive really.

Her bruised shoulder was nothing.

“Clarke.” Monty called out to her across the clearing, beckoning her over.

She set down the wood she was working on and her knife. Then she went to stand by Monty.

He gestured to the items at their feet.

“I found some extra rope that should work. And I think the rest of the trap could be made of wood?”

She squatted down to look over the items, “I’m sure you know better than me.” She ran the rope through her hands. It felt strong enough for the job.

Monty spoke again, “Our priority is to make sure the trap can withstand a lot of pressure. We’ll have to find a way to interlock-“

“Monty!”

Clarke and Monty turned to see Bellamy coming from the trees. He moved a bit stiff, but it didn’t stop him from hurrying their direction, clearly on a mission. Clarke felt a rush of guilt seeing the bandage on his upper arm. From where the bullet had grazed his skin. Her fault.

Bellamy didn’t acknowledge her, instead speaking directly to Monty.  
“We need your help starting plans for the boat.”

Monty’s eyes widened and he looked to Clarke nervously. He stammered, “Oh, I was just- I mean, Clarke and I-“

Clarke took pity on him and pulled Bellamy’s attention herself.

“So, you’re starting on the boat?”

Bellamy tensed up like he was getting ready for a fight, eyes flickering her direction.

“Yeah, you’ve got a problem with that?”

Clarke shook her head, “No, with all the crab meat we have, we’re doing pretty well at the moment. We have time to work on the boat. As long as we keep an eye on the food.”

Both Bellamy and Monty looked taken aback by her allowance.

Her lips twitched up in amusement before continuing, “The thing is— Monty has been helping me build a Crab trap, I kind of don’t want to give him up.”

Bellamy pulled himself together at her words. He crossed his arms, unknowingly bringing attention to a prominent bruise near his wrist. Clarke’s dragged her gaze from the discolored skin to meet Bellamy’s hard gaze.

“I need Monty to help with the boat plans.” He stated firmly.

Monty glanced nervously between them, obviously trying not to pick sides.

Clarke stared Bellamy down for a moment, the memory of his hoarse voice in the pitch-black, talking about his sister pushing through worries about their food stock. She took a couple seconds longer before deciding how to respond.

“If it’s okay with Monty, maybe he could help with the boat until we break for dinner? And then after, he can spend some time with me figuring out the trap?”

Monty nodded eagerly, happy to not be caught up in an argument, “I can definitely do that.”

Bellamy eyed her for moment, expression wary. Clarke met his gaze steadily, refusing to back down.

He let out a long sigh, “Fine.”

He played a hand on Monty’s shoulder and immediately began steering he towards the trees leading back to camp. But Clarke stopped them.

“And Bellamy?” 

He paused, turning his head back.

“If you try keeping Monty any longer than that, I’ll come over myself to collect him.”

Bellamy arched an eyebrow.

“Alright, Princess.”

Her eyes narrowed at the nickname, but she let the two of them go, already talking mechanics for their boat. Clarke shook her head as she turned, only to startle at the sight of Finn suddenly before her.

“I saw that.”

Clarke blinked at him, “Saw what?”

“What Bellamy did.” Finn spat out. “Monty and you were busy and then he just waltzed in and messed everything up. Like he always does.”

“Well,” Clarke ventured, “I kinda-“

“He’s trying to take over and he’s doing a horrible job of it. When did we decide to let him boss us around? We didn't even know the guy two weeks ago.”

“Well, you didn’t know me either two weeks ago.” Clarke mentioned.

Finn’s features softened.

“That’s different. You’re different.”

Clarke shuffled uneasily at Finn’s words and soft gaze, unsure how to react.

But then Finn turned to where Monty and Bellamy had disappeared.

“I just can’t trust him. He shows up in a guard’s uniform with a GUN and then expects us to follow his orders just because he’s a few years older than the rest of us. I kinda hate the guy.” Finn looked back to Clarke. “I mean you feel the same way too, right? He’s bullied you from the minute we’ve landed.”

Clarke furrowed her brows, “He can be a jerk, but I wouldn’t say I HATE him. In fact-“ She paused a moment trying to figure out how to express herself. “After the Cave, I feel like I can understand him a bit better.”

Finn’s mouth dropped.

“Understand what? The guy’s been-“

Clarke cut him off, “Hey, as much as I love gossiping about the romance blossoming between you and Bellamy,” Finn guffawed, “I should really get to work on this trap. And I could use a hand?”

Finn’s expression changed dramatically, a smile suddenly lighting up his face.

“Well, good thing I’ve got TWO hands.”

Clarke raised her brows at the tasteless joke but got to work, instructing Finn on how to help.

And as they started on the task, her working hands let her think.

She didn’t still know what to think about Bellamy. She thought they’d finally… 

What was even the right word?

Connected? 

Opened up? 

Started understanding each other? 

She didn't really know.

But whatever progress was made suddenly broke when he started freaking out in the cave. And now even though SHE felt like she could finally understand him, or at least understand PART of him, Bellamy had returned to antagonizing her. 

And then there was other contentions in the camp. Like Finn’s obvious distaste for Bellamy and Murphy’s attitude towards, well, everyone. And Del’s continuing guilt over Trina.

But overall, things were going well on their little island. Or, at least, better.

There was a huge mound of Crab meat that Fox was trying to turn into jerky, Clarke’s trap was coming together, they had a steady source of water, Del and Fox were healing, and plans were being started for the boat.

Despite whatever was going on with Bellamy, since landing, things had never seemed so hopeful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Clarke and Bellamy have finally had their first heart-to-heart, but Bell is back to Broody Blake. He’s got some stuff to work out. But we’re getting there!!!! 
> 
> Did I mention this was a slow burn? Emphasis on the slow part?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! It’s been a while, but hopefully a loooooong chapter will make it up for you. Like, seriously, I can’t believe how long this chapter is.
> 
> And, despite that, I’m increasing the chapter count by 2 chapters.   
> Sorry ‘bout that. 
> 
> Kinda.  
> But, anywho, get ready for a lot of emotions. A whole lots of feelings. From almost everyone you didn’t really expect it from. Hahaha
> 
> Oh, and there’s significant plot by the end of the chapter. I promise. Just hang in there.

Finn and Del found a waterfall. Later that same day, they guided a group of them inland to go see it.

The waterfall was breathtaking.

Cascading from an 18-foot cliff, the water crashed into a deep pool. Flowers and plants were tucked between the rocks, everything slick from the mist in the air. The sight made Clarke long for the old colored pencils she had when she was little. She wished she could sit down with some notebook to capture at least SOME part of the bright greens and blues in front of her. 

And the water was almost empty, no jellyfish to be worried about.

Upon reaching the waterfall, Mbege and Murphy had immediately thrown off their shoes and shirts to jump in. Clarke was tempted to stop Del as he was gingerly working on getting his shirt past his bandaged arm. She’s have to replace all of them if they got wet. But, Del was smiling, something she hadn’t seen for weeks. So she let him be.

“You coming in, Princess?” Finn asked, standing next to her on the rocks, waiting expectantly.

She shook her head, “I’m going to sit with Fox.”

Finn’s smile grew softer.

“Yeah, it’d suck to be the only one left out.” He paused for a second and then he nodded to the edge of the water, where Fox was already sitting, crutches laying on the wet stones next to her, “I can sit out too if you want. Keep you company?”

Clarke sent him a grateful look.

“No, you go join the others, I’ll come in next time. I’m happy just watching for now.”

Finn nodded and then smirked.

“Alright, you can watch, just don’t stare too much.”

With that he pulled his shirt off and winked, turning to jump in the water. Clarke went to go sit down next to Fox, chuckling at his bravado.

“He’s kinda hot you know.”

Clarke turned to Fox, “Huh?”

“Finn.” Fox waggled her eyebrows suggestively, “He’s hot. I’d be all over that, but he’s hugely into you. No way I’d stand a chance.”

Clarke shifted awkwardly.

Fox continued, “Between him, Bellamy and Mbege, there’s uglier people to be stuck on an island with.”

Clarke couldn’t really combat the statement, seeing as she had EYES, but she didn’t really like thinking about Mbege and Bellamy that way.

Instead she said, “That sounds like some horrible party game. ‘Who’d you want to be stuck on an island with?’”

“What do you know about party games?” Fox asked skeptically.

“I’ve partied.” Clarke defended herself.

Fox snorted, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Deciding to let it go, she only replied, “Somehow I don’t think we’ll be having any real parties anytime soon.”

They both grew quiet, turning to where the boys were splashing in the water. Mbege and Murphy were taking turns pushing each other under the waterfall as Del whooped. Finn’s smiling face turned to look back at Clarke every so often.

“He’s a good guy,” Fox murmured from next to her, “you’re lucky to have him.”

Clarke hummed. 

Fox was right, Clarke was lucky to have Finn. He’d been supporting her, even when no one else would. Ever since they landed on the island. And she wasn’t blind to the way Finn looked at her. She wasn’t sure if she felt the same way back, but it was flattering to have someone so interested in her.

Clarke’s eyes suddenly narrowed, finally noticing who was missing besides Bellamy.

“Where’s Monty? He’d enjoy this.”

Fox perked up.

“He’s not here?” She glanced around the area, as if he might be hiding behind some bush. “I’m surprised. Bellamy’s been working Monty like crazy, he could use a break.”

Clarke couldn’t help agreeing. Between all the delinquents working and Bellamy’s intense motivation to get across the water, the boat was starting to look close to complete. Last Clarke had seen it, the framework was finished. Truthfully, Bellamy had been getting on EVERYONE’s nerves for once. From Dawn to Dusk, if he wasn’t hunting or rounding up the rest of them, he was working non-stop on his boat.

And other than him, Monty had been working the hardest, being the brains behind the entire design anyways. But to think of it, he’d been disappearing a lot recently. Clarke turned to ask Fox if she’d noticed that too, but instead paused when she noticed Fox staring unhappily down at her injured leg.

“And how have you been doing with all this, Fox?” Clarke asked softly

Fox tapped at her leg, still in its brace. 

“I’m finally used to using the crutches, so that’s good. And you’ve said that my leg seems to be healing fine.”

Clarke hummed in confirmation.

Fox sighed and then ducked her head, “I just wish that I didn’t feel so useless. I mean, you’ve been patching everyone up, Monty’s been designing crazy stuff and the rest of the guys have been hunting and building the boat. And all I can really do is skin some rodents and keep the fire going.”

Placing a hand on her shoulder, Clarke leaned forward to meet Fox’s eyes.

“You know no one thinks you’re useless, right?”

Fox grimaced, “I basically am with this leg. And I know no one holds it against me. It’s just— sometimes I think that, instead of Trina, maybe if I…”

“Don’t even start that, Fox.” Clarke said, cutting her off immediately upon realizing where Fox was going, “You can’t let this be some game of ‘what if’. Trina died and there is nothing you or I can do to get her back. I wish more than anything that it didn’t happen. And I would also despise anything happening to you just as much. You’re alive and we’d do anything to keep it that way.”

Fox let out a shaky breath.

Clarke continued, “You mean a lot to us, you know? 

“Yeah.” Fox murmured, “I’d just feel better if I didn’t have this bum leg holding all of us back.”

Clarke nodded, understanding where she was coming from.

“Well, we’ll keep working on getting you healed. And we can put you in charge of any boat building after that.”

Fox’s tensed body started to relax. She turned her head to meet Clarke’s eyes.

“You know, there’s something calming about having you around.” She gave a soft smile, “I mean, you should probably actually let loose once in a while—“ Fox knocked a shoulder against hers teasingly while Clarke rolled her eyes, “But it feels nice to have you in our corner.”

Clarke smiled back and draped an arm over Fox’s shoulders.

“We’ll get through this together. I promise.” Then Clarke narrowed her eyes playfully, “Although, I still don’t know where you guys keep getting this idea that I don’t know how to have fun.”

Fox laughed, “All you ever do work and worry.”

“Well, I haven’t really had time for games in between killing crabs and patching YOU up.” Clarke tugged lightly on Fox’s long hair.

Fox opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by Bellamy suddenly entering their little tropical getaway. He had intense shadows under his eyes, but moved quickly, calling out to everyone.

“Alright guys, enough playing around, it’s time to get back to work.”

Murphy and Mbege turned mid-splash to glare at Bellamy.

“Are you serious?” Murphy demanded.

Finn looked furious. But before he could say something, Del began getting out of the water. As he neared the edge of the water, Bellamy grasped Del’s arm to help pull him out.

Bellamy gave another glance towards the other delinquents. 

“Well?”

Murphy and Mbege started walking back, grumbling. 

Finn took longer to respond, expression stony and arms crossed stubbornly. Clarke sent him an exasperated look from where she was helping Fox onto her wooden crutches. 

Fox suddenly froze, her big eyes widening even further. She nudged at Clarke.

“There’s something wrong with Mbege.”

Clarke’s eyes shot up to see, sure enough, Mbege was swaying on his feet next to the water’s edge.

Finn, noticing their concern, shot forward to steady the other delinquent. Mbege weakly pushed him away. 

But then his expression twisted. 

He leaned forward and vomited into the mud below them. 

Then he fell to his knees, unable to remain standing.

——

The boys gently laid Mbege onto a bedroll in the Dropship. They’d had to worked together to support his heavy weight back to camp. He was still conscious, but Mbege was unable to stand and his skin was clammy. 

Clarke pushed the boys aside to check his vitals again. The others hovered nearby, watching Mbege as he panted heavily, his eyes flickering. 

“What’s wrong with him?” Del asked.

“He’s might have the flu or something.” Finn suggested.

Clarke bit her lip nervously, worst-case scenarios racing through her brain. She moved to check Mbege’s pupils for dilation.

“Mbege is a strong guy, he’ll be fine.” Finn continued, trying to assure them, “And this is the first thing we’ve had to worry about medically for like a week. We’re getting better at this. It’s improvement.”

Murphy snorted from where he was leaning against the Dropship wall, “Improvement? That’s one way to put it.”

Bellamy, previously quiet, moved forward, ignoring the other three. Eyes resting on Clarke, he asked, “What are you thinking, Princess?”

Clarke, letting the nickname pass for now, ventured, “It could be lots of things, Heat Stroke, Food poisoning, the Flu, like Finn said. But…”

“But..?”

“It could also be radiation poisoning.”

“We’ve been on the ground for weeks now, aren’t we past that?” Del asked.

Clarke shook her head, “It could take months for symptoms to show. Symptoms like— vomiting.”

Del paled. Finn and Murphy grew quiet. Bellamy pondered her words for a moment before continuing.

“Well, just in case we’re not all currently dying from radiation, what does Mbege need?”

Clarke squared her shoulders, refusing to linger over the more morbid possibilities.

“Water, a bowl, rags, some broth for when he can actually start keeping down liquids.”

Bellamy nodded before turning to give orders to the others.

“Del, you’re in charge of water and rags. Finn, go help Fox getting back. Murphy, figure out the broth.”

They left immediately to complete their tasks, without a complaint from even Finn. Murphy grumbled ‘Who even knows how to make broth?’, but headed towards the fire anyways.

Bellamy looked back to Clarke as they left.

“I’m heading back to work on the boat. Let me know if Mbege’s condition changes or if you need anything else.”

Before he could leave completely, Clarke stopped him with a lifted hand.

“Can you make sure no one else eats any more of the left-over crab? If Mbege has food poisoning, I’m worried it might be because the crab’s gone bad.”

Bellamy nodded before disappearing.

Everything in the Dropship grew quiet except for Mbege’s ragged breathing and Clarke’s own movements as she continued checking vitals.. Del dropped in every so often with batches of boiled water and a couple bowls of Murphy’s ‘broth'. Hours passed as Clarke worked on feeding him broth and keeping Mbege cool and clean. He threw up several more times, but, by the time the sun started setting, he was able to keep down some broth. And he had fallen into a calm sleep.

When she exited the Dropship, she stretched, her body stiff from sitting on the floor for so long. And then she stopped mid-stretch upon noticing Monty sidling along the side of the Dropship. 

Noticing her, he jumped and shoved his hands behind his back.

“Hey, Clarke.” Monty sent her an uncharacteristically bright smile.

“Hey, Monty, what’s up?” She asked curiously. The hands he was attempting to hide behind his back were full of wires.

He shrugged, “Nothing much. I heard about this morning, though. How’s Mbege doing?” He asked.

“Better. What’s that for?” She asked, nodding at the wires in Monty’s hands.

Monty grimaced, taking a moment before responding, “Oh, um, it’s— listen I wasn’t going to tell anyone, because I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up.” He hesitated again for a moment, “I’m trying to build a radio.”

“A radio?”

“Yeah, it’s probably not going to work and it wouldn’t be able to get signal all the way up to the Ark, but I just thought that maybe the other part of the Dropship might get a signal— I just can’t stand not knowing. I feel like I’m going insane not knowing if they’re okay.”

Clarke’s eyes widened. A possibility of getting in contact with the rest of the Dropship? With the other Delinquents?

Monty continued, “I know it’s not going to work, but— working on it makes me feel more sane, like I’m doing SOMETHING.”

Clarke sent him a small understanding smile. 

“I get that.” Monty’s eyes widened as if he had actually expected her to scold him for wasting time or something similar, “The one thing I hated most about being in Isolation for so long was the waiting.”

Monty gave a small smile back.

“If you need any help, let me know.” Clarke added.

“Thank you.” Monty said, sending her one last grateful look. “Be sure to grab some of Murphy’s stew. He’s surprisingly a really good cook.”

And with that, Monty disappeared around the back of the Dropship. And Clarke went to join the others by the fire pit.

Del and Bellamy were the only ones left. 

Del was chattering to Bellamy excitedly about the waterfall. And Bellamy was smiling indulgently, a rare sight. 

Clarke smiled softly to herself, wishing she could see this side of the two of them more often. 

Del had been morose ever since Trina died. 

And she wasn’t sure if she’d EVER seen Bellamy smile before. It was actually a kind of stunning smile, the kind that she was sure had driven the girls back up on the Ark crazy. And he was doing so well taking Del, who seemed to idolize him, under his wing.

If only he was like that all the time. 

After serving herself a bowl of stew, she decided to leave the two of them to their conversation, rather choosing to sit on the other side of the fire.

Trying a spoonful of stew, she actually moaned. 

It was delicious.

Better than almost anything she’d ever tasted.

She dug into her stew more enthusiastically. 

It reminded her of Unity days on the Ark.

Her family and the Jahas’ would meet for a special dinner. They usually even had meat and desert. Then Wells and her would play, their parents talking about work, the Ark, her mother’s patients.

Clarke suddenly felt extra aware of the metal wristband jangling on her wrist. After having it on for weeks, she had become accustomed to the feel of cold metal on her wrist.

She knew that it was supposed to monitor their vitals and sent the information up to the Ark. To her mother. 

But even if the wristbands did work, the Ark probably thought the location of their signals was an abnormality. One they would never waste resources double-checking.

Clarke was jolted from her thoughts by Finn suddenly sitting down beside her.

“Hey, princess, how’s Mbege doing?”

Clarke put her now empty bowl on the ground, “Better, I think he’ll be fully back to normal soon.”

Finn raised a brow, “Then what’s got you thinking so hard?”

Clarke shrugged, “Just the Ark. My mother.”

Finn regarded her thoughtfully.

“The people you left behind.”

She nodded. It was close enough. She glanced over at Finn, realizing he was sitting extremely close to her. Her thoughts flashed briefly to her conversation with Fox this morning.

“So, your mom’s still up on the Ark. What about your dad?”

Clarke couldn’t help suddenly tensing up.

“He was floated, more than a year ago.”

Finn’s eyes widened, “What? Why would he—?” Then he winced at his own words.

She just sighed.

“He discovered something the Council wanted to keep quiet. When he was about to go public with it, Wells, my old best friend, got him detained.” Clarke’s fist clenched, “Then they floated him.”

“Oh, that’s just—“ Finn was obviously struggling with how to respond, “Wow— I mean.”

Clarke shrugged. It was easy to pretend it didn’t really hurt anymore. Easier that way.

“And Wells was the only one who knew?” Finn asked.

“Ye—“

Clarke cut herself off, suddenly realizing that that wasn’t true. Wells wasn’t the only person who knew about her father’s discovery. 

Her mother knew.

“Clarke?”

Her mother knew about the oxygen crisis, she even knew that her father wanted to tell the rest of the Ark. She had been vocally against it.

Clarke’s heart started to race and her breathing sped up.

“I— I can’t—” She stammered, overwhelmed.

Finn leaned forward, hand coming forward to rest on her knee, “Do you want to talk about it?”

She shook her head instantly, “It’s kinda— I don’t even want to THINK about the possibility right now.”

Finn hummed, “I think I can do something about that. I have a funny story from earlier today if you think that could help.”

Clarke turned herself physically towards Finn, as if that could turn her thoughts away from spiraling away.

Finn took the movement as permission to continue talking.

“So, we never told you the whole story behind Del and I finding the waterfall. There was originally three of us in the hunting party. Bellamy started out with us, but he must’ve decided that he above working with ‘regular’ folk and headed back for his beloved boat after about an hour. Seriously, the size of that guy’s head—“ 

He glanced over to Clarke, as if he was expecting her to chime in with her own Bellamy-based insults. 

When she didn’t offer any, Finn cleared his throat before continuing, “So Del and I were on our own. Which was probably for the best because, at one point, I might’ve tripped and fell face first into a mud-pit.”

At this Clarke couldn’t help but smile.

Finn smiled back, “I’m glad SOMEBODY finds my pain funny.”

“Del didn’t laugh?”

“Well, he did, but, thankfully, he promised not to tell anyone. Speaking of which—“

Clarke shook her head, “Your secret’s safe with me.”

Finn shot her a grin, “Well it was pretty bad. I was covered—COVERED—from head to toe—in mud. It probably took me an hour to wash it off. Luckily, the mud was coming from the waterfall, so I was able to clean it off almost immediately after. But…” Finn leaned forward, as if he was about to share a secret, “I still found mud in my ear an hour ago.”

She let out a short laugh.

Finn chuckled as well.

“There we are, now that’s the Princess I like to see.” he said, his soft smile inches away, having not pulled away from earlier.

At his words, Clarke’s own expression dropped, suddenly remembering what she had been trying to push away earlier. Her mother.

“You’re so amazing, Clarke.” 

Her eyes darted back up to Finn, who was leaning even closer. His eyes flickered down to her lips.

Some small part of her realized he was about to kiss her. 

The rest of her was trying to cling to the bit of cheer from Finn’s story, was still grappling with morbid thoughts revolving around her mother.

If he kissed her, maybe that part of her would disappear for a moment?

“Uh, dude, don’t you have a girlfriend?” 

Finn froze, suddenly wide-eyed, inches from Clarke’s lips. And Clarke whipped her head around to look at the others standing by the fire.

Del stood in shock, almost as surprised by what he blurted out as the rest of them.

Bellamy was still standing next to him, brows raised. His eyes flickered lazily between the three of them, mildly intrigued.

“What do you—?” Clarke began hesitantly asking Del.

Del began stammering, “I mean— don’t you have a girlfriend— up on the ark—that girl that’d come visit? I mean—“

Clarke looked back to Finn, confused.

He swallowed.

“She WAS my girlfriend, yeah.”

“Finn? What is Del talking about” Clarke looked up at him, a brow beginning to arch.

His eyes met hers, panicky. Frustration instantly flooded Clarke’s body, already certain she wasn’t going to like Finn’s answer.

Finn glanced over at the other two, “Could you guys give us a moment?”

Bellamy snorted, “The whole island’s yours, take as much space as you need.”

Finn glared at him before turning to reach for Clarke. Before his hand could meet her arm, Clarke brushed past him to head closer to the trees. Finn hurried to follow her. After about twenty steps, Clarke turned to face him.

She could feel Bellamy and Del’s intrigued gazes watching from across the clearing. But, at the moment, she couldn’t find it within herself to care. Finn looked uneasy about the small distance between them and the fire pit. But Clarke stood firm, just wanting to get this over with.

“You have a girlfriend?”

“Had.”

Clarke waited silently for more of an explanation.

Finn licked his lips, “Raven is a friend from when I was little, we dated, but, it’s not like—“ Finn, gestured widely, expression floundering, “She probably thinks I’m dead by this point and — Clarke— I really like you.”

“Were you still dating when the Dropship was launched?” She asked.

“Well, yeah, but—“

“And you didn’t think to tell me about this before you tried to kiss me?”

“I— I—“ Finn ran a hand through his hair, “You mean a lot to me Clarke. The last few weeks would’ve been torture if it weren’t for you.” His hand dropped to clutch at Clarke’s upper arm, “I guess Raven and I really didn’t technically break-up but I wouldn’t even had a chance to, seeing as I was forcefully launched from the Ark.” His eyes desperately searched Clarke’s face. “She’s been my friend for a while, so, of course I miss her. But, you and me Clarke, what we have? It’s real. And it’s different from anything I ever had with Raven.”

Clarke sighed, “Look Finn. I’m really grateful to you for being there for me since we landed.” Finn’s expression lit up at her words, “And I really appreciate that.” 

Finn smiled and leaned forward, as if to wrap his arms around Clarke. But she stepped back, away from his reaching hands.

She continued, “But it’s only been WEEKS since we’ve landed, since ALL of us left people on the Ark and I just don’t feel like that’s enough time to—“ she paused a second, trying to find the right words, “—to start something like this. To truly let go of the people we’ve lost.”

Finn shook his head, leaning forward again.

“No, Clarke, it’s not—“

Clarke, no longer able to look into Finn’s face, to see his expression wavering between overwhelming determination to change Clarke’s mind and a kicked puppy, turned to walk away,

“Sorry, Finn, I just can’t do this right now.”

She felt his hand reach out to touch her shoulder and she yanked it away.

“Don’t.” She warned.

She gave Finn one last disappointed look, before leaving.

That night, Clarke made sure to set her bedroll between Fox and Monty. Finn pouted at her from across the floor of the Dropship, but Clarke just tuned him out.

Truthfully, Clarke wasn't that hurt emotionally. Sure, her pride took a blow and she was still frustrated with Finn. And, okay, it bothered her that she had opened up to Finn about her father and Wells, when he obviously hadn’t bothered to do the same.

But really, in avoiding thought about her mother, she just couldn’t stop thinking about the girl named Raven. The girl who was probably circling above them at this very moment, searching for her love.

——

Clarke was climbing up the tree dotted slope faster than she could have ever imagined possible. Too fast probably, if her aching lungs were any indication

But passing out would be better than falling behind at the moment.

Because that would mean having to walk next to Finn, who was still trying to corner into professions of sincerity and affection.

Or it would mean walking next to Murphy. Which was just as bad for obvious reasons.

If Bellamy hadn’t been backing off on antagonizing Clarke, she’d assume that he sent her out on a foraging team with those two just to torment her.

Finn and Murphy were the LAST people she’d want to work with at the moment.

Clarke paused for a moment, leaning against a large boulder, panting.

They had decided to head up the ‘mountain’ part of the island, seeing that it was mostly unexplored. 

Climbing uphill was proving longer than expected. 

And the higher they went, the less trees. So nothing blocked the sun from beating down on Clarke’s head. The only relief came from a consistent breeze coming off of the ocean. 

Still leaning on her rock, she spent a couple second watching tufts of grass tucked between boulders sway. 

And then turning to look out at the ocean, her shaky breath caught in her throat.

They hadn’t even climbed to the summit of the island, but already Clarke could see for miles. Miles and miles of waves and clouds. And to the west, just a couple hands-width of blue water away, was the other land. 

The other land, which was covered in Green for as far as she could see.

“Wow, that’s stunning.”

Clarke stiffened, suddenly aware of Finn’s presence next to her. He was also flushed and breathing heavily from the climb, but he inched a little closer.

“It’s a million times more beautiful than any of the textbook pictures up on the Ark.” He added.

“And probably full of those death blobs.” Murphy drawled as he approached them.

Finn turned to glare at him. Murphy snorted.

“What? You think it’s not true? That water’s a death trap. And we don’t even know what’s going on the other side. The other land could be far worse. Man-eating flowers, poisonous kittens—”

“Why are you like this?” Finn interrupted in disgust.

Murphy smirked, “It’s a drive to survive. Hate me all you like Spacewalker, but I guarantee I’ll be living long after you’ve died for some stupid reason.”

“Says the guy that everybody can’t stand.”

Murphy narrowed his eyes, “Not that you’re much better.” His gaze flickered over to Clarke, “At least the Princess here isn’t avoiding me like the plague.”

Rolling her eyes, Clarke began waking away from both of them, hoping she could get a head start away. 

No such luck. She could already hear Finn’s footsteps and labored breathing following her.

“Hey Clarke, about the other night—“

“I don’t want to talk about it, Finn.”

Truthfully, she didn’t really hold it against Finn anymore that he didn’t tell her about Raven. Or that he made a move on Clarke after only a few weeks of leaving his girlfriend. Like Finn said, he wasn’t sure he would ever see Raven again. They were effectively dead to each other.

But, while putting distance between her and Finn, Clarke realized that she didn’t really like Finn the same way he liked her. That and he was growing less friendly and more irritating the more time passed.

She sped up her climbing a bit, hoping he would get the hint and leave her alone. 

But Finn hurried to catch up with her.

“I just think that if we could talk about it—“

Clarke sighed pulling to a stop so she could look Finn in the eyes.

“I’ve already said everything I wanted to say.” She stated firmly.

Finn’s expression was pleading, “But if you only understood, then you’d give me a chance.”

Clarke rubbed at her eyes, feeling exhausted in every way. Murphy was right, she’d been actively avoiding him. And she’d been working non-stop, trying not to think about her mom. Recently, she felt tired constantly.

“I hate to break up this touching scene,” Murphy said, coming up behind them, “But do you guys see that white thing up there?”

Clarke and Finn turned to where Murphy was looking.

On top of the rocks, about 50 feet away was a four-legged furry creature watching them warily. 

Other than hooves and two little horns on top of its head, the animal was covered in cream colored fur with the occasional brown splotch. Its head was cocked and body tensed, as if ready to dash away at any moment.

“Think it’ll eat us?” Murphy asked, sounding bored.

“I think it’s a goat.” Clarke said excitedly, “Or maybe a sheep?”

Finn nodded, smiling, “I’m guessing goat.”

“They can be domesticated, used for milk.” Clarke continued.

After bouncing on his feet a moment, Finn started approaching the animal carefully. 

“I always thought it’d be cool to be a farmer.”

Once Finn got within a few feet of the goat, it started dashing away. Swearing, Finn started sprinting after it.

“Come on guys, cut it off!”

——

Bellamy was waiting for them, clearly on the verge of launching into a lecture, at the edge of the Dropship clearing. Unsurprisingly so, because they were back two hours later than expected. 

But his expression turned incredulous as he noticed the live animals hanging over of their shoulders.

“Are those—?”

“Goats.” Clarke proclaimed.

He moved closer to get a better look.

They had found three goats in total after scouring the slope. It had taken a while to chase them down, hence the late return. But luckily, the hike downhill had been a lot easier than going up, even with the extra weight.

Clarke had the smallest of the three over her shoulders. 

It’s grey dappled fur was longer than the others, making it look like a stuffed animal. 

But it also stunk and kept bleating in her ear. And kept chewing on her shirt.

As they entered the campsite, the other delinquents all gaped. Then they peppered Murphy, Finn and Clarke with questions as they hovered, unsure of where to put the goats.

“We can put them in the Dropship for now.” Bellamy decided.

He called out to Mbege, who was almost completely back to normal, to join him in grabbing a few logs to keep in the goats.

Once Bellamy and Mbege had created an impromptu fence covering the Dropship exit, Finn and Murphy immediately deposited their goats inside.

Clarke ducked away from Finn, who was attempting to assist her in lowering her goat in.

His disappointed gaze followed her as she headed toward the nearly-completed boat.

Bellamy looked up as she came to stand up next to him.

“The boat’s almost done?” She asked.

Bellamy hummed, “Monty said it should only be a couple days.” Then he nodded towards Finn, who was still sulking. “Seems like loverboy over there isn’t too happy.” 

Clarke just gave a non-committal hum.

“Were you too hard on him?” He asked, smirking.

“It’s none of your business. And don’t go bothering him about it either. You’ll just antagonize him.” Clarke scolded.

Bellamy raised a brow, but didn’t push it any further, instead turning to look to where Clarke’s grey-dappled goat was poking its head through a hole in the logs.

“Think there might be more on the island?”

She shrugged.

“Maybe, but I’m guessing that we’ll be leaving as soon as the boat’s done, so we won’t have long to look for them.”

He nodded.

“There’s two males and a female you know.” She added. “So we can start producing baby goats eventually, some milk.”

“You did good, princess.”

Clarke glanced back over at Bellamy, who she could almost swear was giving her a genuine smile.

“Wow, was that a compliment?”

Bellamy groaned, turning to walk away.

“Don’t let it go to your head, Griffin.”

Clarke grinned at his departing figure.

——

Clark was back in isolation. Her back was against one of the walls, the smell of metal and charcoal permeating the air. 

The air was freezing. The floor beneath her was frigid to the touch. She shivered.

Across from her, the door began to tremble.

As she watched, dark water started seeping through the bottom and sides of the doorframe. 

She gasped as the cold water touched her feet. 

Scrambling for the bed, she pulled herself up out of the pooling liquid. Heart beating quickly, she watched as the room began to fill. As the waterline reached the same level as her bed, she jumped off to rush towards the door. Wading through the water, she grabbed at the door handle and pulled with all her strength. 

But the door wouldn’t budge. 

And through the small window, she could see her mother’s face. 

“Mom!” She screamed desperately. “Help me!”

Her mother stared at her blankly, unseeing.

“Mom!”

Her mom turned away, disappearing.

“Mom!” Clarke shrieked out one more time, banging her hands against the glass.

With her mother gone, she whirled back around.

And suddenly, she was no longer in the Skybox, but back in the cave, closed in on all sides by pointed rocks and boulders. 

The water continued to build, quickly filling up the space. Soon enough her feet couldn’t even reach the ground. 

She swam to the tallest point of the cave.

She sucked another breath from the last inch of air between the water and the ceiling.

Then the water covered her head and she was completely submerged. 

It was so dark and murky she couldn’t see more than a couple of feet in front of her. Her lungs were already starting to burn. The cold of the water leeched every bit of warmth from her.

Trying to find an escape, she spun around desperately.

Then—suddenly— floating an inch from her face, glowing, was a translucent orb.

Her thoughts dashed to Trina. Trina surrounded by glowing lights in water, screaming. Trina, dead.

Clarke thrashed to get away from the floating light. 

Something brushed against her arm.

And then her entire vision turned white.

“Clarke.”

She opened her eyes. 

Sitting up next to her, with a hand resting on her arm, was Monty.

“Hey, you okay? I think you were having a nightmare.” He asked, concern bleeding through.

Clarke’s eyes swept over the Dropship, over the trees peeking though the gaps in the metal walls. The other delinquents snored softly in their bedrolls, blissfully oblivious to Clarke’s panting and racing heart. The three goats were piled together in a little snuggled heap in a corner.

Sitting upright across the Dropship, next to the largest opening, was Bellamy. He was awake, propped up against the wall. His gun with the one remaining bullet resting next to his hand. They made eye-contact, him peering at her from the corner of his eyes. After a moment, his gaze flickered away to look out back into the night, back to watching the outer world warily.

Clarke, calming, looked back to Monty.

“Sorry, did I wake you?”

Monty shrugged show it didn’t bother him, “I was just worried. You were starting to flail around.”

She winced.

“Sorry.”

Monty gave a gentle smile.

“No, I get it. Want to talk about it?”

Clarke shook her head.

“I guess I’m just a little stressed. It’s no big deal. I’ll let you go back to sleep.”

Monty nodded, sending her one more small smile before settling back down.

Clarke clutched the fabric of her bedroll tightly to herself, trying to rid herself of the cold feeling that wouldn’t leave. She turned, facing the opening of the Dropship, where she could see leaves swaying in the breeze and the shadowy outline of Bellamy, motionless.

It took some time, but soon enough, a dreamless sleep claimed her.

——

Everyone cheered when Monty declared the boat finished. 

It wasn't very good-looking, having been made mostly by teenagers. No sails, no rudder. It was more like a large raft than a true boat. But they had finished it in about a week, complete with a couple oars to steer and propel the craft forward.

Monty grinned proudly as they celebrated, Fox waving a crutch over her head and Del bouncing around. Clarke laughed happily.

Bellamy let them have their moment. Or rather, a moment.

And then he ordered them to start packing up.

Assuring them he truly meant NOW, Bellamy got them to work, figuring out how to fit everything on the boat.

Bellamy rolled his eyes when he saw Clarke carefully monitoring what they planned to place on board, double-checking the food and fresh water. But he didn’t try to stop her.

‘Progress’, she thought optimistically.

As the others began transporting supplies to the beach, she stopped to look out over their little make-shift camp. They spent weeks here. And they were leaving it for good.

Murphy smirked as he passed by, holding a single paddle.

“Slacking, Princess?”

Clarke frowned at him, but turned to help Monty with a water container they had made with metal from the Dropship.

Within a couple hours, they had the boat pushed down to the beach and all their supplies loaded on board. Even the goats had a rope tying them to the center of the boat. Everything was ready.

But when they turned to the water, they all faltered.

Even under the daylight, they would see the shapes of thousands of Jellyfish under the water. And suddenly, Clarke was overly aware that they were yards away from where Trina had died.

“We should wait for the jellyfish to clear out.” Clarke said decisively before anyone else could comment.

Bellamy’s eyes flashed, he whirled on her.

“We should head out as—“

Clarke squared her shoulders, moving forward to meet him head on. The others all watched them anxiously.

“Bellamy. No. We’re waiting for a clear opening these waves only last for like an hour anyways. We can leave as soon as that happens. It would be a completely unnecessary safety risk otherwise.”

He huffed, aiming a swift kick at a mound of nearby sand. But he didn’t push it any more.

——

The moment the stream of Jellyfish began thinning, Bellamy was getting into position.

They helped Fox up, settling her next to the bleating goats. And then the rest of them took up positions around the boat, bracing themselves against it. It took all of them pushing against the splintery wood to move it from the sand to the water. 

By the time the boat was free-floating, Clarke was relieved to see no sign of Jellyfish in the water. The boys all splashed through to clamber onto the boat. 

While Clarke was climbing in, Bellamy reached over to pull her in forcefully. She sent a glaring look his way. He wasn’t the only one looking forward to escaping the island.

Mbege and Finn had the first rotation on paddles. They got to work instantly battling against the incoming waves. Murphy sprawled out across the packed bedrolls, stubbornly taking up the most space. Bellamy was sitting crosslegged at the back of the boat, fingers strumming over his knee. The ocean spray coming off the water was shockingly cold. Del was visibly shivering as he pulled a bedroll free from under a grumpy Murphy to wrap around himself. Clarke met an anxious look from Fox with a reassuring smile.

This is what they had been working towards for weeks now. They were heading to new land and, hopefully, to the rest of the Dropship.

Several minutes into their journey, Monty leaned over to Clarke.

“What do you think we’ll find on the other side of the water?”

She shrugged, “It shouldn’t too different from the island, right? Just more land and trees, maybe some new animals and plants.”

They both turned to look out at the other land, which was seemed slightly closer now.

“Think it’ll be safer?”

“Probably not,” Clarke replied, but then she chuckled, “But I’m guessing we won’t have to worry about Jellyfish as much anymore. Since we’ll probably be heading inland.”

Monty smiled, “That’s something at least.”

Finn and Mbege started murmuring to each other, “What is that?”

“It looks like some freaky rock?”

Bellamy called out, “Whatever it is, we should avoid it.”

Finn raise his voice so the whole boat could hear, “I can’t, its like a wall. I don’t see a way around it.”

Clarke jumped up, moving toward the front of the boat, Bellamy following quickly behind. The sudden moment made the boat rock wildly, cause the other delinquents to protest. Clarke ignored them, scanning the water.

Sure enough, barely poking from the water, was bright red and purple rock, jagged and twisted. Sharp. It filled several feet of water in front of them and what must be miles to each side. In fact, she couldn’t see an end to it. A jagged, colorful wall. Like Finn said.

The sitting delinquents all craned their heads to get a good look at the strange rock in front of them. 

The wall of rock they were heading rapidly towards.

Clarke realized with rising horror what might happen if they smashed into the wall.

“We need to stop the boat.” Clarke said.

Behind her, she could hear Finn and Mbege struggling with their paddles.

“Stop the boat!” Clarke turned, yelling urgently. 

They were feet from ramming into the wall.

“We can’t!” Mbege cried out helplessly, Finn just grunting as he strained to paddle the boat backwards.

Bellamy lunged across the wood for one of the paddles, but it was too late.

The boat collided with the wall of sharp rock. 

And as the wood made contact, it was ripped to shreds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooo, that was a long one.   
> And, um, maybe a little frustrating? hahaha
> 
> Sorry, I’ve just realized that I’ve been ending an absurd amount of the chapters in Cliffhangers. I promise I’m not purposely trying to torture you I promise. I just couldn’t write anymore this chapter, it was getting to be a lot. haha
> 
> I’ll be back with the next chapter soon! And it’s going to be an interesting one ;)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooo, another long chapter. Apparently I don’t know how to write short stuff. Enjoy!!!
> 
> I might come back to edit stuff later (Cause I didn't proofread this lol), so don't be surprised if some minor things change later.

Clarke only caught a glimpse of hard-earned supplies disappearing into the water before the impact threw herself off the boat. 

The turbulent water instantly swallowed her up. She thrashed instinctively, searching for the surface. Her eyes stung when she opened them underwater, but even then, all she could see was white froth surrounding her. Her lungs burned from lack of oxygen. And she felt an odd sense of deja-vu. A phantom memory of drowning.

Then her head broke the surface.

Clarke gasped, working to stay afloat. And then she saw the waves taking her CLOSER to the ‘wall’ they had crashed into, with its jagged edges. The colorful rock, with sharp tendrils arching out of the water was only a foot away. She flailed in the other direction, fighting against the current. And then found herself sandwiched between the wall and a spinning broken section of the boat. Visions of a blow to the head or being rammed into the sharp rock by the giant piece of wood flashed to mind. 

With seconds to decide, she gulped an extra-large breathe of air before diving deep back underwater, aiming under the floating section of wood. Mentally summoning all the swimming role-plays they went through in Earth-Skills, she kicked forward. Panic flared as wood brushed the top of her head. She propelled herself through the water desperately. And then, praying she had swum forward enough to clear the wood, she headed back for the surface.

Swimming up, she found chaos on the surface of the water. Screams were filling the air. Clarke blanched at the sight of blood in the water. Debris spun around her, broken shards of the boat and the supplies they had worked so hard to gather. Murphy was swimming past her back towards the island, blood streaming down one shoulder, teeth gritted. 

“Where are the others?” Clarke shouted to be heard above the waves and screams.

Murphy kept swimming away, either unable to hear her, or choosing not to.

Then Clarke located the origin of the worst of the screams, the three goats in the water that being yanked in waves by ropes. The ties still connecting them to the broken center section of the boat being tossed in the current. 

She swam towards them. Upon reaching the ropes that tied them to the broken-off section of the boat, she found the fibers swollen with water. No matter how hard she pulled at the knot, the ties didn’t budge, the salt-soaked ropes only making her hands sting. The goats next to her flailed, eyes rolling, barely able to keep their heads above the water.

“Here.” 

Clarke looked up to find Del balancing on one of the largest sections of wood, offering a knife. Relieved at the sight of him and the knife, she let out a shaky sigh.

Taking the knife, she started hacking at the water-logged ropes, the goats still screaming.

Finally cutting through the ties, she turned back to Del, who was fishing the more whole supplies out of the water onto the section of the boat. Clarke handed him the ropes, working together to get the goats out of the water. 

“The others?” Del asked as he worked at calming the goats down once they were settled on the wood.

Clarke shook her head, “I don't know. I saw Murphy heading b—“

A shriek from behind them made them both swivel that direction.

Fox was clinging to a smaller piece of wood, eyes wide with panic, as she was headed to collide with the jagged wall of rock. 

Fox sobbed, “I can’t! I can’t! I can’t!”

“Her leg.” Clarke breathed, realizing that Fox probably couldn’t swim well with her healing leg.

Clarke launched away from Del’s section of wood, rushing to get to Fox in time. Her heart sank when she realized she wouldn’t make it before Fox smashed into the wall. Fox’s teary eyes met her own, her dark, dripping hair falling over her face. Clarke felt a sob of her own rising. 

And then from Fox’s right, Clarke saw Bellamy racing through the water towards her. 

Still swimming desperately, Clarke watched as Bellamy reached Fox, quickly coaxing her off the wood to cling to him. Exhaustion plainly clear on his features, wet curls plastered to his forehead by the spray of water, Bellamy then began attempting to swim away, holding Fox to him. 

But it wasn’t enough. Bellamy was barely able to keep their two heads above water, let alone fight the waves pulling them towards the sharp rock. Clarke’s arms felt on fire from forcing them through the water, but she rushed forward. Almost reaching them, she watched as Bellamy stretched out a hand to push them away from the colorful rock.

Clarke shouted out a warning, voice breaking, “Don’t Bellamy! Stop!”

Bellamy hissed as his palm made contact with a tendril of jagged rock, Clarke already seeing blood covering his hand.

Clarke finally reached them, looping an arm around Fox’s.

And then she attempted to help pull the two of them away from the rock. 

Clarke could hear Finn’s voice shouting for her in the background and Fox was crying. But she tuned them out to focus on making her aching arms move. Bellamy was panting next to them as he worked to swim, Fox’s arms still locked around his neck.

Between the three of them, they began making progress away from the wall of rock. Fox heaved painful gasps between them, hyperventilating.

Finn reached them, swimming up and grabbing ahold of Clarke’s arm.

“Clarke! Are you okay?”

Normally throwing off Finn’s touch, she gratefully allowed him to pull her towards Del’s section of boat, where Mbege, Monty and Del were watching, eyes wide. 

Clarke clung to the wood desperately once she reached it. Panting and arms weak, she was only able to watch as Monty and Mbege worked to pull Trina up out of the water.

Clarke rested her pounding head against her hands, which were latched onto the wood, thinking it was a miracle they were all alive.

——

Murphy was grumbling as he waited for Clarke to finish patching up a cut on Monty’s head. She only spared him a sharp look as she wiped around the abrasion under Monty’s blood-encrusted hair. Murphy had a nasty wound his shoulder that he was attempting to staunch with a spare piece of cloth, but Clarke couldn’t help him take care of it until she patched up Monty. She couldn’t allow him to lose anymore blood.

Monty had hit his head against the boat when they had crashed, he was lucky the hit didn't knock him out completely.

Well, they were all unbelievably lucky to still be alive. Even if it didn’t feel like it. On the section of wood Del had found, they had been able to scavenge a large portion of their supplies, including one of the paddles. Using the paddle they made their way back to the island, running into Murphy on the way. Unfortunately, not everyone could fit on the wood, so Trina and Finn had stayed on the wood, Finn using the paddle. The rest of them had clung to the wood, hoping desperately that the Jellyfish would suddenly surround them. But they had made it back to island without running into any other death-defying encounters. They were all alive.

She wouldn’t mind Murphy being slightly less conscious though. Especially if he was going to continue making a fuss.

Monty’s eyes met Clarke’s, giving her a weary but sympathetic grimace as Murphy let out a stream of swears.

But, truthfully, Murphy’s complaints were less unnerving than Bellamy’s silent and sullen presence in the corner of the Dropship. He had joined them inside when Clarke had ordered him to (she needed to take a look at his still-bleeding hand), but he had yet to say single word since arriving back at the island.

Clarke glanced over at Bellamy under her eyelashes, concern growing at the sight of his vacant stare. He sat on the ground, body tense, but head bowed down, his now-dry hair hanging down into his face. His hands were clenched, blood dripping down the knuckles of his right hand.

Clarke wrenched her gaze away from him, taking a deep calming breath.

One thing at a time.

She finished cleaning up around Monty’s head wound and reached for a clean cloth.

“Hold this to your head, the bleeding should stop after about thirty minutes. If We’ll bandage it once it stops.” She inwardly cringed at the instruction dismayed that a cloth and bandages were the only things he could offer him. If they were up on the Ark, they’d have the technology to examine his injury more closely, to see if there was permanent damage. If her mother were here—

Clarke shoved all thoughts of her mother away, something she had been doing more and more often lately since that conversation with Finn by the fire. 

Monty took the cloth Clarke offered and stood to go sit on his bedroll. His face unnaturally pale and movement slightly woozy from blood loss. Clarke frowned at him in concern before turning to Murphy.

Nodding to his shoulder, she instructed him, “Let me take a look.”

Murphy, wincing, peeling the blood-soaked cloth from his deltoid. Clarke, perplexed, came to take a closer look at the wound.

The length of the cut was jagged, the lines anything but straight. And upon closer inspection, Clarke found the cut shallow in sections and worryingly deep in others. She could already tell Murphy was going to need stitches in some areas.

“How did you get this?” She asked, baffled.

Murphy snorted, “Impressive right? The floating boat threw me into the rock.”

“Coral.”

Clarke turned to Monty, who had spoken.

“What?”

“We crashed into coral,” Monty explained, voice unsteady, “It wasn’t rock.”

Clarke thought back to pictures see had seen of coral while on the Ark. Pretty plant-like things surrounded by colorful fish and adventurous divers didn't match what they saw today.

Monty continued, “The radiation must have messed with it, coral as we now it would be a lot different, but there’s no way that was rock.”

“Whatever it was, it’s a death sentence.” Murphy announced, a hint of twisted amusement playing in his eyes, “There’s no way we’re getting off this island now.”

“Shut up, Murphy.”

All three of them turned towards Bellamy, who had spoken for the first time. Clarke almost physically recoiled from the furious look on his face.

Murphy smirked, eyes glinting.

“What’s wrong, boss? Upset your boat idea didn’t work?”

Bellamy just glared at him.

Clarke started to step between the two of them.

“This is not the time, Mur—“

“He can’t handle the truth?” Murphy interrupted, “His stupid boat almost got us all killed. He should feel bad.”

Bellamy stared back at Murphy unflinchingly.

“Or maybe he meant for it to fail. He’d obviously rather die than get back to little sister. I would too, she sounds like a real—“

Clarke interrupted to protest, but could barely get a word out before Bellamy was charging past her across the tent.

Monty gasped in horror as Bellamy landed a punch to Murphy’s jaw with his blood-covered fist. Clarke launched forward to try and pull the two apart, Murphy now attempting to give as good as Bellamy gave.

“Stop right now! We don’t need this!” Clarke yelled as she grabbed hold of one of the boys’ shirts. 

Then she yelped as an elbow made painful contact with her face.

“Clarke!” Monty started in concern.

Finn, Mbege and Del burst into the Dropship one after another, no doubt drawn in by the yelling.

Clarke turned to them instantly for help.

“Help me pull them apart!”

The boys instantly hurried to grab ahold of them, physically tearing Murphy and Bellamy apart.

Once they were separated, Clarke stepped between the two of them.

“You two will stop. NOW.”

Murphy spat, face already starting to bruise, both his and Bellamy’s blood now smeared on his face.

“Tell him, not me. He’s the one randomly attacking people.”

“Like you don’t deserve it.” Bellamy gritted out, finally escaping Mbege’s grip and approaching Murphy again.

Clarke put herself immediately in front of him, expression daring him to take another step.

“Bellamy. Go take a walk.” She said firmly.

Bellamy stayed put, glaring at Murphy.

“You need to leave the Dropship for now.” She informed him, “We need more food because we lost supplies. Go hunting or something.”

Bellamy wouldn't look at her, refusing to look away from Murphy. So she stepped even closer to him.

“Go.” she said firmly.

His hard eyes finally left Murphy. Only to widen when his gaze met Clarke’s face. She raised a brow, waiting. While looking at her face, something like regret flickered within his eyes before he whirled away to stalk out of the Dropship.

Clarke watched him go, wanting to chase after him and scream at him for an hour and simultaneously thank whatever gods might exist that Bellamy had never reached for his gun during that entire altercation. Instead, she turned to back to the others, focusing her attention on Murphy.

“Bellamy is an idiot, but you’re an idiot too.”

Murphy protested immediately in disbelief, “Did you not see what he just did?”

“Yeah, I did, but you’re also the one provoking people, when we’re all on edge.”

“It’s not my fault you’re all—“

Clarke interrupted him, “You’re the one who’s always saying you’ll out survive everyone else. Well, I think you’ll find you survive longer if you know when it’s time to sit down and shut up for once.” She nodded to the spot he had been sitting at previously. “If I were you, I’d start now. Leave dealing with Bellamy to me and I’ll come work on your shoulder AFTER you settle down.”

Murphy glared at her in frustration, but settled on the ground with little more than a disbelieving huff.

Clarke turned away from him to look at the others.

“Alright, thanks for your help, but everyone else, except Monty and Murphy, need to leave the Dropship and continue working on the supplies.”

The three boys hesitated, uncertain.

Finn stepped closer to her, eyes-wide, “Clarke, your nose is bleeding.”

She wiped a hand under her nose to find that she was, in fact, bleeding. No doubt from her failed attempt to break up the fight.

She looked back up from the blood decorating her fingers to see Finn reaching for her, as if he could wipe the blood away himself.

Clarke ducked away from him.

“I’ll take care of it, I’ll be fine. You guys should head out.”

Del and Mbege instantly left, Del only glancing back once in worry.

Finn stayed back, expression furious.

“Who did this, Clarke? I swear, I’ll—“

“I don’t need you to do ANYTHING to anyone, Finn,” Clarke stated firmly, eyes unmoving from his. “The only thing I need from you right now is for you to leave and help the others.”

Finn clenched his jaw, looking ready to fight her too.

“Leave, Finn.”

His eyes narrowed at her before he turned to leave.

She sighed when he finally left.

“You sure you’re alright?” Monty asked, attention focused on her.

She nodded, but couldn’t help feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Finn was starting to become a problem.

And Bellamy felt like a ticking time bomb.

Clarke noticed a headache building at her temples.

But she turned to finally go patch up Murphy’s shoulder.

One idiot at a time.

——

It was a couple of hours before Clarke found the time to seek out Bellamy. 

Leaving Monty and Murphy to rest in the Dropship, she found Bellamy placing water over the fire to boil.

She walked over, greeting him by gesturing towards to the logs surrounding the fire and giving an instruction to sit.

Carefully not meeting her gaze, Bellamy obeyed taking a spot close to the fire pit.

Taking the spot next to him, she began inspecting his wound in purposeful silence. Sure enough, like Murphy’s shoulder, there was a jagged cut through his palm from the coral. But, luckily, it wasn’t too deep. Clarke wet a fresh cloth in the now boiling water and got to work cleaning Bellamy’s hand.

Aside from the occasional flinch from Bellamy, neither of them attempted to break the quiet.

It wasn’t until Clarke began wrapping Bellamy’s hand that she finally spoke.

“You’re definitely going to get a scar.”

Bellamy hummed in response.

She continued, “It shouldn’t be too bad, but punching people probably made it worse.”

Bellamy licked his lips before finally speaking.

“I’m sorry about your bloody nose.” His eyes flickered towards her, genuine apology filling his gaze, “You didn’t deserve that.”

“True, I didn’t deserve it.” Clarke nodded, “ But you should also apologize to Murphy.”

Bellamy stared at her incredulously, “Are you serious?”

Clarke turned to him, her expression making it clear just how serious she was.

Bellamy clenched his jaw and turned away from her again.

Clarke continued wrapping his hand before speaking again.

“I want to punch him too sometimes.”

Bellamy snorted, “I don’t doubt it.”

“But I never actually do it.” She stated, tying the bandages with a firm yank, “Because it’s the last thing we need right now.”

He winced but still refused to meet her gaze.

She continued speaking.

“I’m glad we’re all alive, but otherwise, today sucked.”

He grunted.

She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, “We didn’t get across today. I feel like screaming, and the only person waiting for me with the rest of the Dropship is someone I hate. I’m not even like you or Monty, who have even more of a reason to get there than me.” 

She glanced over at Bellamy, noticing the way the contours of his face were emphasized by the glow of the fire. Until now, she had been constantly aware of how Bellamy was older than them. He had some kind of hold over the rest, had a biological superiority over them. But, at this moment, with light flickering over his feature, she was reminded that he was still young. Barely an adult.

She licked her lips before speaking again.

“I’m not even going to ask if you’re upset, because I know it.” Bellamy finally jerked up in indignation, whether to say that “upset” is too mild of a word or to claim he was fine, she didn’t allow him time to say, “But being upset is not a good enough reason to be attacking other people. We’re barely surviving, we can’t have people fighting. Especially not you. Because you’re going to find us a way across that water.”

Bellamy finally spoke, his voice terse, “Did you see that coral? How do you suggest we get past that?”

She shrugged, “We’ll figure it out. I have a feeling we couldn’t give up even if we tried.”

He regarded her intently and then nodded. His gaze dropped to his bandaged hand.

“You know. If we live and—“ Bellamy swallowed before starting again, “If we live and get off this island, it’ll probably be because of you more than anyone else. And not just because of your medical skills.”

Clarke hummed.

“I don’t know, Monty is kind of a genius.”

Bellamy let out an involuntary huff of laughter, “Him too.”

Clarke glanced over at him.

“We need you too Bellamy.”

Bellamy hesitated a second before offering, “I’m sorry for how I’ve treated you since we landed. I was a jerk.”

She smirked, “You were, but apology accepted. Now, in honor of our new-found alliance, do you want to help me get started on dinner?”

He sent her the smallest of smiles before standing to help her up.

——

Clarke ducked around the side of the Dropship as quickly as she could without drawing attention to herself. 

She waited a moment and then allowed herself a sigh of relief when she realized no one followed her. 

It wasn’t like it was a secret that she’d been working on her crab trap, but she wasn’t in the mood to fend of Finn. He had been almost obsessed with her recently. He’d follow her everywhere. She could swear he was reluctant to let her go relive herself without him. She’d never really been a dependent person and when Finn refused to listen to her protests, it started grating on her nerves.

If it weren’t for Finn’s stalking, Clarke would say that things were….okay. Or maybe adequate rather.

It was only three days since the failed boat attempt and they still hadn’t come up with another solution for getting past the coral wall. But everyone was still alive, Murphy, Monty and Bellamy’s wounds were all starting to heal.

Monty didn’t show any signs of a concussion. Fox and Del seemed a bit shaken from their experience on the water from a few days ago, but they were doing rather well otherwise. Murphy was starting to gripe a LITTLE less. Mbege kept quiet, always either out with Bellamy or spending time with Murphy around camp.

And Bellamy hadn’t transformed into a ray of sunshine overnight, but he wasn’t on edge or feeling like a ticking time bomb as much. Instead he threw himself into work, dragging Del or Mbege off with him to collect food and water, to build a better enclosure for the goats or to gather wood for the fire.

And he was being, dare she say, nice to Clarke. Which was huge improvement to before.

The things worrying her most at this time(other than trying to find another way across) were the goats (one of them still hadn’t recovered from almost drowning, the animal was alive but obviously sick) and their lack of food.

Between what they had managed to save when the boat crashed and the supplies they had collected since returning, they had enough for the day to day. But Clarke was concerned that one bad day would be all it would take to run out of food. A problem that could be helped by a few days worth of crab meat.

Hence why Clarke was slinking along the side of the Dropship, trying to ditch her shadow to hopefully get a few Finn-free moments AND to help solve the camp’s food troubles at the same time.

But apparently Clarke wasn’t subtle enough.

“What are you doing?”

She jumped at the sound of Finn’s voice, inwardly cursing. Steeling her expression, she turned to face him.

“I was going to work on the trap.”

He nodded contemplatively, still walking closer to her.

“And, no, I don’t need your help.” She then said as he opened his mouth to respond.

His eyes grew wide and dramatically innocent, “I’m just worried about you going off by yourself, it’s not safe.”

Clarke crossed her arms.

“So it’s fine when guys to go out on their own, but not me?”

“It’s different, Clarke.”

“Why, because I can’t take care of myself?”

Finn stepped forward into Clarke’s space. She instantly took a step back in response, to which he pouted.

“It’s not about—I just couldn’t stand it if something happened to you. You matter too much.”

Clarke sighed before fixing him with a stern look.

“Finn. I’ve always appreciated your friendship. But I’ve already made it clear that this is just friendship. I care for you the same way I care for everyone in this camp. And no matter how you feel, I really need you to treat me the same way you treat everyone else. Nothing more.” She motioned between them, “And THIS? This is too much.”

He huffed in frustration.

“You don’t understand Clarke. I can’t just NOT worry about you. Ever since we’ve landed you’ve been like a light to me. The thought of somehow losing you…”

Just looking into Finn’s pleading eyes, Clarke felt ready to yell at him, but she took a deep breath before speaking again.

“You are suffocating me Finn. I promise I’ll make sure to be stay safe, but I need you to back off. Go help Fox or go hunting with Bellamy instead for once.” Finn made a face at Bellamy’s name. Clarke ignored it. “You can still help and look out for me, but just the same way you help the rest of the camp.”

He grabbed her by the hand, gripping tighter when she tried to pull away. 

“The others? They don’t even matter. You always have mattered the most to me.”

Clarke was on the verge of stomping on Finn’s foot when she heard scuffling from behind her. Both her and Finn turned to see Monty behind them, looking like he wished to disappear.

Finn instantly let go of Clarke with a guilty expression, “Hey Monty, I don’t know what you heard but it was just— I didn’t quite mean it—“ Then he noticed the device in Monty’s hands, completely forgetting about his awkward excuses, Finn asked, “What’s that?”

Monty’s grip clenched on what Clarke knew must be the radio she saw him working on earlier.

“Oh, this? It’s—“ Monty’s eyes darted up to Clarke’s in mild panic. 

She gave him a reassuring look. She knew he had been hesitant to share his project with anyone else, but she had to admit she felt a little excited to see the machine sitting in Monty’s arms.

“I’ve been working on a radio. I needed more light so I wanted to get a little closer to the clearing. It’s almost done but I don’t know if it will work or not though.” Monty stammered out.

“What?”

Clarke turned to see Bellamy and Del behind them along the side of the Dropship. 

Had the whole camp decided to join them in this little spot hidden by the Dropship?

The two of them gawked at the tangle of metal in Monty’s clasp.

“Did you say a radio?” Del asked excitedly.

Monty took a shaky breath before nodding, “Yeah, like I said I don’t know if it’ll work yet, but… It wouldn’t be able to reach all the way to the Ark, but I was thinking we could at least get in contact with the rest of the Dropship. And their comms might still be intact enough to the point of contacting the Ark, so they could even work as an in-between for us and the Ark.”

Del grinned coming forward to get a closer look at the unfinished shed radio, already exclaiming how cool it was while Monty was rushing to tamper Del’s expectations.

Finn looked intrigued from where he was standing next to her, although he hung back a bit awkwardly.

Looking back at Bellamy, Clarke was surprised to see his expression.

He looked panicked and a bit torn, his gaze fixed on the radio.

“What’s wrong, Bellamy? I thought you would’ve been excited about getting in contact with the rest of the Dropship?” She asked softly.

His eyes flickered up to hers before flickering away.

“Getting in contact with the Ark too, though? I’m not really in the mood to talk with the people who floated my mother and threw my sister in the Skybox.”

Clarke grimaced at the thought of confronting her mother AND Wells, something she really wasn’t looking forward to if the radio worked.

But still she reassured Bellamy, “With the Ark’s technology, they might be able to figure out where we are and maybe even a way for us to get off the island.” Bellamy nodded but kicked at the grass below his feet, still not looking up. Clarke continued “You’d also get to talk to Octavia. I know that would give you a lot of peace of mind.”

He took a deep breath, looking back up at the radio for a long moment before he nodded.

“You’re right.”

Bellamy stepped closer to Monty, his steps light as if wary of the radio itself.

“If you need any help with with fixing it, let us know.” 

Monty agreed immediately, a little relieved.

Bellamy spoke one more time before leaving, “If the radio works, I want you to let me know immediately. I want to be there when you make the first call.”

Clarke tilted her head at Bellamy’s strange behavior, but seeing Finn distracted by the radio, decided to prioritize sneaking away before he noticed.

——

Clarke collapsed onto the bedroll next to where Fox was sitting.

“Finally.”

Fox gave her a sympathetic look.

“You finally ditched Finn?”

She nodded, “The other guys dragged him to go hunting along the beach. Thankfully. He’s driving me crazy. I feel like it’s more exhausting to be arguing with about it constantly more than anything else.”

Fox scrunched up her nose, “It’s like he’s a different person the last week.”

“Has he?” Monty snorted from where he was working on the radio.

“What do you mean?” Clarke asked.

Monty looked up to see Clarke and Fox staring at him.

“Well,” He began, “He’s never really acted the same when he’s not around Clarke.”

“Really?”

Clarke looked over to Fox, who looked contemplative.

“You know what?” Fox said, “I can see it.”

Clarke sat up, suddenly reevaluating all the interactions she had had previously with Finn. And the things he had said. Like that the others in the camp ‘don’t even matter’.

“Well, either way, I have no idea how to deal with him. Nothing I’m doing seems to be working.”

Fox adjusted her injured leg so she could turn to better look at Clarke.

“Are you worried that he might… I don’t know… become violent?”

Truthfully, that was something on Clarke’s mind recently, but she tilted her head, long blond hair fall down one shoulder.

“I don’t think so?”

Monty shot her a hesitant look.

“I hope not, but if you ever feel unsafe around him, let one of us know, okay?”

Clarke nodded, suddenly overcome by the realization that she had created a type of family here. She doubted her and Murphy would be hugging on each other anytime soon, but Fox, Monty and Del (maybe even Bellamy sometime soon) were becoming just as important to her as Wells ever was.

She smiled gratefully at Monty.

He nodded back, beginning to turn to back to work diligently on his radio. 

“Monty,” Monty paused, looking back to Clarke, “we’re going to find a way across that water so you can get back to your friend Jasper. I know it.”

Monty allowed a small hopeful smile on his face before getting to work.

Next to Clarke, Fox hummed.

“I’ve been thinking about that actually. Do you think there might be a break in the coral wall? One that can fit a boat?”

Clarke considered it.

“Maybe. We could build another boat just to explore the coral. It wouldn’t even need to be very big, because it would only need to fit one or two people to check it out.

“Maybe we could try it once we build up our food stock a little?” Fox ventured excitedly.

“That’s—“ Clarke started.

But she stopped mid-sentence when a crackling sound filled the interior of the Dropship.

“What was that?” She asked, turning hopefully to Monty.

He stared down at the radio before him, wide-eyed.

“It’s working.”

Clarke scrambled to join Monty at the other side of the Dropship.

“Does that mean we can talk to the rest of Dropship?” Fox asked desperately her gaze on the radio almost reverent.

“Well, I have to try and find the right frequency and they have to have a working communications system too, but…” Monty trailed off.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Clarke declared, waving an excited hand to urge Monty to start.

As Monty’s shaking hands began adjusting wires and knobs, Fox asked, “Should we go get Bellamy? He wanted to be here when the radio started working.”

Clarke waved her off.

“We’ll let him know as soon as he comes back to camp. He’ll understand.”

Clarke and Fox watched as Monty played with the controls, listening carefully to the static issuing from the radio.

Thirty minutes later, after a lot of trial and error of calling out using Monty’s make-shift microphone, Fox had fallen asleep on her bedroll. Clarke was still sitting next to Monty, but had dragged her bedroll over so she’d be more comfort table. 

She shifted, working to stop her limbs from falling asleep. 

She knew that this would likely take a long time, no matter the result. But she couldn’t help the way her heart dropped after each minute of uninterrupted static.

Monty shot her an apologetic look before picking up the microphone again.

“This Monty Green calling for the Dropship. Dropship are you there?”

Monty paused a moment before repeating his call one more time.

Clarke listened carefully to the static, chewing her lip as thirty seconds passed uninterrupted. 

Monty sighed, reaching for the controls again. Only to stop when they suddenly heard.

“—the Dropship. I repeat, you have reached the Dropship.”

Clarke and Monty’s excited shouts woke Fox, who shot up, babbling in confusion.

Focusing on Monty, Clarke urged, “What are you doing? Call back.”

Monty enthusiastically grabbed for the microphone.

“Hello Dropship, this is Monty Green a member of the fragmented Dropship.”

They could hear several people talking at once on the other end of the line.

“Monty, isn’t that the one guy J—“

“The others are still alive?”

“Shouldn’t we—

One voice, that made Clarke’s heart clench, rose above the others.

“Give me that. Now.”

Wells’ voice rang through the radio speakers as he firmly asked.

“If this is the rest of the Dropship, do you have Clarke Griffin with you?”

Monty immediately handed her the microphone, showing her where to push to turn it on.

Clearing her throat first, she announced, “I’m here.”

“Clarke.” She could hear the relief in Wells’ voice as he said her name. Shakily he said, “I thought you were dead.”

Refusing to get emotional, she stated matter-of-factly, “Well, I’m not.”

Continuing on before Wells could say anything else, she said, “There are seven of us. There were—“ Here Clarke’s voice broke, “There were eight of us, but we lost someone soon after landing.”

“Oh, Clarke—“

She shook her head, not wanting to be reassured by Wells.

“Do you have a delinquent by the name Jasper in your group? Monty here needs to know if he’s okay.”

Monty leaned forward, desperate to hear the answer.

“Jasper Jordan is here and fine.”

Monty visibly relaxed in relief, burying his head in his hands.

“Well mostly fine.” Wells continued with a chuckle. “Some of the delinquents today got into a batch of weird nuts, so they’ve been acting a bit… funny. But they’ll be fine in an hour or two.”

Monty tilted his head in confusion, but Clarke moved onto the next thing on her mind.

“We are on an island, but we are not sure where. Are you in contact with the Ark?”

“Yes, but the connection is a bit spotty. When we can get into contact with them again, we can see if they can calculate your Longitude and Latitude?”

Clarke sighed in relief. It wasn’t a solution to all their problems, but it could tell them how far they were the others at least.

“Wait!” She pulled up the microphone again, remembering another important question. “Do you have girl named Octavia Blake with you?”

There was some hesitance this time before Wells replied again, but, still the answer was, “Yes, she’s here, healthy and safe.”

Clarke smiled, already imagining the peace of mind the news would bring Bellamy.

“Clarke, can I talk to you in private for a moment?”

She clenched up at Wells words, already dreading whatever Wells was going to say to her. She stared down at the radio, but decided it was better to get it over with.

“Fine.”

She looked over to Monty and Fox, silently asking them to give her a moment.

Monty was already getting up, going to Fox to help her stand. After pulling her up, Fox gave him grateful smile, but gestured for him to go before her, picking up her crutch instead. Clarke waited the long moment it took for Fox to hobble over to the Dropship exit before turning back to the radio.

“Ok, they’re gone.”

Wells took a deep breath before beginning, “We have a lot to talk about but, Clarke, you need to know—“

Clarke cut him off, unwilling to let him control the conversation, “Before you say anything, I need to ask you a question.”

“Clarke!” Wells sighed, exasperated, “This is important.”

“Answer my question first, then you can say whatever you want.”

Wells’ end was quiet.

Clarke asked, “Okay, I need you to answer Yes or No, nothing else. Did you tell anyone else about what my father was planning to do?”

“Clarke.” Wells’ frustration building, “We’ve already talked about this and I’ll tell you a million times over again that I’m sorry if that’s what you need. But right now the priority is—“

Clarke cut him off.

“That wasn’t a yes or no. Give me a real answer to my question.”

“I’m trying to tell you that you and everyone else on that island is—

“Wells.”

Clarke paused a moment, remembering just how bad Wells was at lying and the lengths he would go to avoid it. But acknowledging that Wells was not the one that gave up her father only left one option. One that she was scared to consider.

“Wells, can’t you just tell me—“

“Clarke! Just listen! My father was shot.”

She halted mid-sentence in shock.

“What?”

“My father was shot just weeks ago.”

Clarke pressed her lips tightly together, not sure what to say next. Out of all the things she expected Wells to say, this news was not it.

“Is he—?”

“He survived. But, Clarke— He was shot just before the Dropship was launched. He was shot by a man who escaped on the ship.”

Clarke’s mind made the connection and her heart dropped at the same moment that Wells said his next words. 

“The person who shot him was a man named Bellamy Blake. I’m guessing from your question earlier that he survived the ship’s fracture. If he did, then you have a criminal in your group.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, apparently I’m becoming a cliffhanger person now.
> 
> I promise this is getting done, it’s just taking a while with school and my spaz-brain. Especially with Finals coming up soon.
> 
> I have several other ideas for Bellarke I’m excited about, like a Dark Victorian-Era Murder Mystery, another mystery that’s a crack-piece about beheaded Lego-Statues, Bellarke as gamers, A roman empire one, another one with dragons…. but I haven’t even finished the last two Bellarke fics I’ve started. Ugggghh. Why can’t I just focus on one idea at a time? My piece ‘Super Zero’ should be finished sometime this next month though, so look forward to that.


End file.
